Richland County committee forwards draft county vehicle‑use policy to Public Works

The Richland County Executive and Finance Standing Committee reviewed a draft countywide vehicle‑use policy on June 10 and approved sending the draft to the Public Works committee for additional review.

County Administrator Derek Clemons said the draft was developed after Public Works and other departments asked for a uniform policy; the sheriff’s department would be excluded because it maintains separate rules for law‑enforcement vehicles, lights and sirens. "We would not include the sheriff's department in this policy as they do have their own policy and their own policy references weapons, references the lights and sirens," Clemons said.

Staff told the committee they had circulated the draft to multiple departments that use county vehicles and received feedback from HHS, ambulance, highway and others. HHS returned minor grammatical and terminology edits. Ambulance services raised concerns about a draft prohibition on handheld phone use while driving; committee members recommended clarifying that hands‑free use for navigation and hands‑free calls would be permitted. One member suggested language such as "use of hands‑free phones is permitted" to preserve GPS and hands‑free calling for emergency responders.

Members discussed operational details the policy should address, including post‑accident reporting. The draft includes an employee‑responsibilities clause requiring staff involved in an accident to report the incident to law enforcement and their department head. Committee discussion noted the county is self‑insured and that department heads may need additional, department‑specific guidance from Human Resources or claims administrators.

Committee members also discussed verifying employee driver licenses through the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and observed there could be a cost to running license checks. The discussion estimated the county fleet as "probably under 20" vehicles, and members clarified that take‑home vehicles appear limited to certain departments that are on call, such as Highway and some public‑works staff.

After discussion, the committee voted by voice to forward the draft countywide vehicle‑use policy to Public Works for further review and refinement. The committee did not adopt the draft as policy at this meeting; Public Works will evaluate department feedback and return recommendations to the committee or full county board.