Commissioners debate vehicle-use mileage policy, GSA rate vs. county budget rate
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Summary
County commissioners discussed revisions to the vehicle-use policy, including whether mileage reimbursement should use the federal GSA rate or a county-adopted budget rate, whether personal-vehicle use should be mandatory-only for certain cases, and whether mileage should be paid one-way or both ways; staff will draft compromise language for the elected-officials meeting.
The commission held a detailed discussion of a proposed revision to the county vehicle-use and mileage policy. One commissioner proposed computing reimbursement at the GSA rate per mile or Bannock County’s adopted rate at the start of the budget season, and recommended changing language on personal-vehicle use from "should" to "must."
Opponents said referencing the GSA rate is too open-ended and preferred setting a conservative county budget rate (examples discussed included 65–72.5 cents) that would be set annually during budget season; several commissioners emphasized that the travel budget should create fiscal discipline. Commissioners debated whether to pay mileage one-way or both ways if a county car is not available; many favored paying both ways in that circumstance but not when a county vehicle is available and a personal vehicle is chosen as a matter of preference.
Staff and commissioners flagged additional budgetary impacts: statute requires jurors be paid the county-approved mileage rate, which could increase costs unpredictably; election workers are also affected. Commissioners agreed to send competing drafts to an upcoming elected-officials meeting and asked staff to prepare a revised policy for that forum.
Next steps: staff will draft versions (including a Ken-proposed version and a Christie/administration version) and present them to elected officials for refinement before the commission adopts a final policy.