San Marcos adopts vehicle-use fees for police secondary employment; council declines equipment surcharge

The San Marcos City Council on Tuesday approved a Police Department policy establishing vehicle-use charges for officers who work paid secondary employment while using city vehicles.

Police Chief Stan Standard told the council the department calculated a market-based rate by comparing rental-car market prices for an upper-end full-size SUV and converting that figure to an hourly rate; the draft policy proposed $6.80 per hour for vehicle use and a $3.40 one-time commute charge when an officer's origin location is outside San Marcos. Chief Standard said the goal was to recoup a reasonable share of vehicle operating costs while keeping officers available and able to respond to calls as needed.

During a lengthy Q&A, councilmembers asked how coverage would work if an officer were injured or involved in a crash during secondary employment. Risk-management staff said workers' compensation coverage depends on whether an officer was acting "under the color of office" (for example, taking law-enforcement action during a robbery), in which case the city would likely file a workers' compensation claim; by contrast, routine non-duty injuries during contract work may not be covered and officers were "encouraged" to obtain supplemental occupational-insurance policies, though the city cannot require them to do so.

Council also questioned whether the $6.80 rate accounted for police-specific vehicle upfitting (radios, lights, computers). Councilmember Garza proposed adding an amortized share of upfitting costs (staff used a $22,000 five-year amortization in discussion that would have added roughly $2.11/hour in an example), producing a combined theoretical hourly figure of about $8.91. Several councilmembers opposed adding the equipment surcharge, arguing the city already purchased and paid for much of that equipment and that charging agencies such as school districts could amount to subsidizing the city's fleet. By roll call, a majority declined to add the equipment-amortization surcharge and council adopted the original $6.80/hour and $3.40 commute rates; staff said the policy will be reviewed annually to reflect market changes and is expected to take effect Oct. 1, 2025.

The council's decision does not change the city's liability posture for crashes or damages: staff said the city carries liability insurance on its vehicles and would file claims with the Texas Municipal League (TML) risk pool and pursue subrogation where appropriate. The policy clarifies responsibilities and gives the public consistent pricing to expect from businesses that hire off-duty officers.

Next steps: policy 4.6.1 (vehicle charges) will be finalized and published in the department's policies; staff will obtain and share the amortization methodology if council seeks to revisit equipment-related fees in a later review period.