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Vehicle-use ordinance is in the mayor’s hands
(by Cindy Forrest - November 05, 2008)
Members of the Parsippany town council may have overstepped their bounds, but frustration over municipal employees’ use of town-owned vehicles drove them to initiate change they consider long overdue.
In a unanimous vote, the all-Republican council threw down the gauntlet for Democratic Mayor Michael Luther regarding a long-standing issue that has been fueled by rising gas prices and concerns about the trickle-down effect of economic woes at the state level.
Against the advice of council attorney Judy Verrone, who said that under Parsippany’s form of government it is the administration that controls policies and procedures for staffers, council members chose to move forward with an ordinance that sets up ground rules for the use of municipal-owned vehicles.
The new law allows employees that currently have the use of township cars to commute to and from work, as a part of their employment agreement, to continue using them but new hires will not be given that option in terms of their compensation package.
The ordinance now goes to the mayor for a signature or a veto. If he vetoes it, the council will need a super majority, four of five votes, to institute the new law without mayoral approval.
In an interview a week after the council vote, the mayor said that the matter is still “under consideration.”
“I’m speaking with the town attorney about it,” said Luther, “because although the ordinance is consistent with my policies, this matter is clearly outside the council’s jurisdiction.”
The ordinance was originally put forth, by Council President John Cesaro and Vice President Ann Grossi, during their first year in office. However they withdrew it for consideration after the admonition from Verrone.
Then with the unprecedented rise in gas prices this year, the council leaders took up the cause once again.
“We need to move this forward,” said Cesaro. “If the mayor vetoes it, then it’s on him but at least we’ll have done what we think is right for the taxpayers in Parsippany.”
Cesaro and Grossi maintained that while emergency personnel may need municipal vehicles at their disposal 24/7, many of the 17 non-police department staffers with cars don’t fall under that category.
Parsippany, the largest municipality in Morris County, employ upwards of 475 workers. Under the Luther administration the number of employees with personal use of municipal vehicles has declined and it will decline even further in the near future, as some staffers with cars are set to retire.
The new ordinance will also require all municipal vehicles, other than those used by emergency personnel, to be equipped with township emblems and municipal license plates that identify them as township vehicles.
Councilman John Fox argued that perhaps the mayor should be exempt from the emblem requirement, since he may need to move around town inconspicuously. A recommendation was made that his car could have the emblem affixed by a magnet so that it could be removed, if necessary.
During the public comment period, resident Roy Messmer said he was pleased with the passage of the ordinance but that he would have liked more controls to be added in. Mainly, he wanted more accountability in terms of gas usage and miles driven.
The ordinance does require that a mileage log, including odometer readings, purpose of trip, destination and employee information be provided. It also requires that the driver/employee sign the log and that a supervisor verifies the information and signs-off on it. However, gas consumption is not specifically mentioned.
The new ordinance prohibits employees with assigned township-owned vehicles from using them for anything but the commute from home to work and back, except for incidental stops along the way, such as picking up milk or mailing a letter. It also states that they cannot carry passengers, other than other township employees in those vehicles.
In addition the ordinance calls for the township clerk to maintain a list employees using township vehicles and it puts the responsibility for reporting problems and keeping the vehicle clean on the staffer.
Township employees do pay taxes on the cars as a part of their compensation. The Internal revenue Service bases the cash value on the car on the miles driven in the course of their commute.
Cindy Forrest can be contacted at: forrestc@northjersey.com.
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