Commissioners table county vehicle take-home policy after emergency responders request exemptions

Colfax County commissioners discussed a proposed county vehicle take-home policy and voted to table the item so staff can incorporate exemptions and clarifications for emergency responders.

Tom Vigil, Colfax County emergency management (speaker 5), described long after-hours response distances and asked the commission to exempt emergency-service roles from standard commuting fees. "At the current billing rate of 72¢ per mile, it would cost me $79 per day," Vigil said, illustrating how the charge could affect on-call emergency personnel who live significant distances from their worksite. Vigil also asked the commission to consider a de minimis personal-use standard — limited incidental stops home-to-work that do not add significant mileage — rather than strict daily mileage billing.

Commissioners asked county administration and HR to evaluate IRS tax-reporting implications and to add a specific exemption for emergency vehicles and for a post-accident drug- and sobriety-testing provision (several commissioners suggested field sobriety checks followed by short-window drug tests rather than breathalyzer tests, which may not be practically collectible in the field). The county's attorney/staff will redraft the policy to incorporate an emergency-vehicle exemption and testing language and bring it back to the commission; the board voted to table the policy pending those edits.

Why it matters: vehicle take-home policies affect personnel costs, taxable benefits and emergency-response capability in a rural county where responders may live far from stations. The commission sought to balance fiscal oversight with operational readiness for fire and EMS personnel.

What's next: staff will revise the policy to include an emergency exemption and proposed testing protocols, consult HR on IRS reporting, and return to the commission for final approval.