From Deseret News archives:
A close watch on county fleet
The Salt Lake County Council is expected today to create a fleet management board that will scrutinize every purchase, mileage reimbursement or personnel move in the beleaguered fleet.
The board's establishment is the final step in cleaning up the fleet, which has been plagued with allegations of scandal, waste and mismanagement for more than a year.
"It's a good board to have in place so they can really be looking more closely at fleet policies and procedures so we don't end up with a runaway fleet system," Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon said.
The Democratic mayor froze fleet operations in January 2005 after a citizens' review panel recommended he create a task force to review all fleet operations.
The panel convened after several scandals, ranging from county employees taking fleet vehicles on personal vacations, fleet managers getting questionable amounts of overtime pay and a fleet supervisor facing allegations of running an illegal DVD business out of fleet headquarters.
The fleet's director, Nick Morgan, also retired after being placed on administrative leave during an investigation into questionable mileage reports and travel vouchers.
Much of the problems were blamed on lack of oversight, a problem that can be curbed with the creation of the fleet management board, Corroon said.
Corroon said he hopes embarrassing scandals are a thing of the past. During his recent State of the County speech, Corroon said the scandal-ridden county has finally earned back the trust of the people.
"This past year has shown that we can work well together as one county government," Corroon said in the Jan. 10 speech. "We have put aside politics to plan together for our future."
The seven-member board will approve any expansion of the fleet and all upgrades, as well as monitor the fund balance of the fleet. The board will comprise one person from the mayor's office, the public, the County Council, the auditor's office, the sheriff's office and two representatives from county divisions that use fleet vehicles.
If someone disagrees with the board's decision, all appeals will be heard by the County Council. However, Corroon said he believes someone with detailed knowledge of fleet operations should handle all appeals.
"It seems to make sense to have those people who are involved in using the fleet help make those decisions. The council obviously isn't up to speed on a daily basis how our fleet's being operated," Corroon said. "It just didn't make sense to me."
E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com
