Workman, staff to give up county vehicles

Responding to growing concerns over county-owned vehicle usage, Salt Lake County Mayor Nancy Workman has forbidden full-time vehicle use and monthly car allowances among her staff.

Starting June 15, Workman and her staffers will drive their own cars and apply for mileage reimbursement at the standard federal government rate of 37.5 cents per mile.

If you have a decent pickup truck for sale, Workman's in the market, although "I don't know what I can afford just yet."

"We're cutting bait," she said Wednesday. "We've got some systemic problems."

Of 22 political appointees under Workman, eight use full-time county cars and nine receive car allowances ranging from $550 to $650 a month, mayoral spokesman Ted Phillips said.

The mayor has been driving a county-owned SUV, equipped with police lights and siren in case of emergency. Its frequent washes — as many as three times a week — have raised some eyebrows, but despite Workman's heavy mileage no one has publicly accused her of inappropriate use.

Nevertheless, "whatever I do with everyone else, I've got to do with myself," she said.

Workman has also ordered a study done on vehicle usage in departments under her authority, which include three dozen agencies and hundreds of employees. "We need to find out if it's a perk or a tool," she said.

The mayoral fiat earned plaudits from both sides of the political aisle.

"Good for her," GOP County Council Chairman Steve Harmsen said.

"I think it's an excellent response," Democratic Councilman Joe Hatch said.

Hatch and the council's two other Democrats, Jim Bradley and Randy Horiuchi, said in Tuesday's weekly council meeting that they plan to introduce a resolution urging elected officials to give up their cars and take the car allowance instead.

Hatch attributed Workman's action as a response to that action, noting that "she's taken it a step further." In fact, as a practicing labor lawyer, Hatch sympathized with staffers who will now lose hundreds of dollars in monthly car allowances — basically a cut in pay.

The positive response to Workman's action is notable given that the matter has become increasingly politicized, with county Democrats and Republicans accusing each other of grandstanding for political gain.