Council signs off on police vehicle surcharge for secondary employment; $6.80 per hour, $3.40 commute

San Marcos City Council discussed and signaled consensus on a police department policy setting vehicle surcharges for officers working secondary employment and on related liability and insurance questions at a Sept. 16 work session. The council arrived at a $6.80-per-hour surcharge for city vehicles used during secondary employment and a $3.40 one-time commute charge for officers traveling from outside the city; staff said the charges are expected to take effect Oct. 1, 2025.

Chief Stan Standridge presented the draft standalone policy 4.6.0.1 and the proposed rates, describing staff analysis that compared a high-end full-size SUV rental market rate to local fleet costs. Standridge said the department used a Central Texas rental-market benchmark — citing a full-size SUV daily rate of $171.90 (reduced to $163 after a 5% law-enforcement discount) — to derive a $6.80 hourly vehicle surcharge. He said the $3.40 charge covers a one-time…