May 31, 2008 8:55 am US/Central
Some Cops Will Now Pay To Drive Squad Cars To Work
MINNEAPOLIS (CBS) ―
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About 100 officers at the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office have take-home cars; they include commanders, investigators, school resources officers, canine officers, public information officers, and a handful of others.
CBS
Starting June 1 deputies in one Minnesota country will have to pay 33 cents for every mile they commute outside of the county.
There are 450 employees in the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office. About 100 officers have take-home cars; they include commanders, investigators, school resources officers, canine officers, public information officers, and a handful of others. Sixty of those officers live outside the county.
Sheriff Bob Fletcher said his office started looking at a change in their take-home policy when gas prices hit the $2 per gallon mark.
They studied other agencies' policies and couldn't find anyone who charged their deputies per mile. He estimates it will cost each affected employee $100 a month, but save the county $70,000 for the year.
"When they're driving to Anoka, Hudson, Rosemount, you know, it's troubling to think those county resources are being expended to drive those long distances," Fletcher said.
He acknowledges the benefit to officers of a take-home car, but also said there are benefits to the citizens too. Officers can respond to DWIs or crimes in progress and there is a first-aid kit in every car.
"But as gas prices increase, clearly the benefit tips in favor of the employee," he said.
Each law enforcement agency handles its take-home cars differently.
In Stearns County, each deputy has a take-home car.
In the Minneapolis Police Department, all commanders, canine officers, some investigators and the public information officer on-call can take their cars home.
According to Assistant Police Chief Sharon Lubinski, those officers cannot take their cars home if they live more than 30 miles from the city.
In January 2008, the Minneapolis Public Works Department locked in their gas prices for the year. They pay $2.39 per gallon of gas, but charge a tax and fess to their internal customers.
The police department, which accounts for half of the city's gas needs, pays $2.77 per gallon to fill their squads.
"We figure that at the current market rate, we are going to save approximately $1.3 million for the tax payers this year," said David Babcock, fleet manager for the city's public works department.
Babcock said he does worry about next year's prices and expects them to go up. Ramsey County struck deal to pay $3.20 per gallon through May 2009.
"This is a problem for all of society," said Fletcher, "We're just a microcosm of it."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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