proposed vehicle policy by dale county commission chairman mark blakenship and "some"...

7/29/2019 Proposed vehicle policy by Dale County Commission Chairman Mark Blakenship and "some" members of the Dal…

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/proposed-vehicle-policy-by-dale-county-commission-chairman-mark-blakenship 1/10

PROPOSED ADDENDUM

Dale County Com miss ion

Personnel Policies and Procedures Hand book

Dale County Vehicle U se Policy

Purpose:

This policy establishe 3 procedures regarding the assignment of County vehicles, u se o fCounty veh icles, business use of private vehicles and the purchasing o f County ehicles.

I t is the policy of the Dale County C omm ission to reimburse i ts employees, elec dofficials, and a ppointe-d officials for travel and transpo rtation ex penses d irectly r lated toofficial business of th C ounty. All travel costs wil l be paid directly to the indiv dualincurring the exp ense and m ay not be bil led to the County w ithout prior approv of the

Department Head.

This policy is also pre pared according to the Federal Tax A ct of 1985 and A labGeneral S tatutes which establishes procedures regarding report ing o f income anwithholding of taxes.

Definitions:Assigned Vehicle: ACounty-own ed vehicle designated for the use of an indiv dual

em ployee in the norrr al performance of his/her duties but not authorized for tak; -homeuse.

Take-ome V ehicle A C ounty-owned v ehicle designated for the use of an inemp loyee in the normal performance of his /her duties including the com mu te f rto work.

vidualm h o m e

Mileage Reimbursement: A p er mile rate to compensate em ployees for the incidental ,non-routine, or extra( rdinary use of a privately own ed vehicle for official bus iness , basedon actual logged miles.

Assigned Vehicles:

Only D ale County emp loyees on bonafide County business and authorized by t i e

Department Head rney drive or operate County vehicles or equipment.

Cou nty-owne d vehic, es are to be used for official business only with reasonableconsideration for use for m eals , while in the course o f performing business on behalf ofthe County. Fo r individuals assigned veh icles for overnight use, stopping betty en w orkand hom e to perform brief minor personal business may be acceptable, but any uch useshould be the excep tion rather than the rule, and only if the stop is d irectly in r to fromwork to the em ployee 's residence.

. 1



Co unty-ow ned veh icles are not assigned for nor shall they be used for the conve s ence ofthe em ployee w ith regard to transportat ion needs or other non-business activit ies xceptas determined by the Department H ead with concurrence of the Dale C ountyCommiss ion .

Alcoho lic beverages or any illegal drugs are not perm itted in Cou nty vehicles at an y t im e .Law enforcement personnel, as approved by the Sheriff , may transport alcoholicbeverage s or drugs tha.: have bee n lawfully confiscated or scheduled for use durit raining exercises. To 'acco products are not to be used in County veh icles.

Drivers sh all observe al l local and state ordinances pe rtaining to the operation of otorvehicles. Any fines irr posed for any v iolation which wa s under the control of the drivershall be the responsibi ity of the driver.

Hitchhikers are not permitted to r ide in C ounty owned v ehicles. Non-County employeesmay accom pany Count ' employees in County vehicles when they have a busines

interest in the travel at d if they are covered by workmen's compensation by theiremployer. Due to insi.rance limitations and regulations, no other passengers arepermit ted unless authorized by the C ounty M anager.

Take-ome V ehicle Procedures:

For an em ployee to be authorized for the take-home use of a County-owned v ehi le, theem ployee m ust posses; a valid driver's license, m aintain a safe driving history, binsurable, and mee t one of the following tests:

Qualified nonpersonal use vehicles include:

• Clearly m arket police, fire, and pub lic safety officer vehicles. The employee

must be on-cal:, required to comm unte in the vehicle, and be prohibited fi om

personal travel outside the jurisdiction.

• Unm arked veh cies used by law enforcement off icers. The off icer mustauthorized to c irry a firearm, execute search warrants and m ake arrests.

All other em ployer-provided vehicles:

s Subject to frequent after-hours call back, ands Such call back arrangements are to locations other than the em ployee's normal

duty station, ar d

s A special vehicle, tools or equipment are required to perform after-hoursassignments, and

s An unaccep tab.e delay in the response w ould result from the employee's -etum tothe normal duty stat ion to retr ieve the needed equipment.

This category is normally reserved for emergency maintenance response situations where

a group of employees 'hare formal on-call responsibilities on a rotational basis, Isuch as



public utility maintenan ce. In such cases, the use of the take-hom e vehicle is for the

period of on-call assignment only.

Public safety personne permitted to use an individually assigned vehicle during theirnormal tour of duty rmy use the vehicle for comm uting purposes in accordance with the

department 's s tandard Dperat ing procedures as approved by the Dale C ountyCom mission. Wh ile rot on duty during such com mu tes, off icers may assist onincidences thay m ay encounter as needed and in accordance with departmentalprocedures. Any t ime spent responding to such incidents or call back return to work iswork time and shall be reported as soon as practical.

Assignments are not permanent. W hen priori ties or circumstances have changed,vehicles should be rea5 signed. All Take H om e vehicle assignm ents must be reviewedand evaluated by the Department Head and ap proved by the Dale County Com missionannually during budge planning. The following conditions should be considered

s lequirements of the job.s ?roductivity.s Availability of Co unty vehicles.s : lost to the Co unty.

Department H eads shad determine reasonable schedules and vehicle assignments forrotational , on-call cove rage. For o ther purposes, the Dale C ounty Com mission, a ; thewrit ten request of the Department Head, w il l authorize full- t ime Take-Hom e veil ' lesbased on the criteria described above.

Em ployees permitted to take a vehicle hom e (comm ute) from their workstat ion nay do

so for job-related reasc ns and not as a com pensatory measure.

Vehicles so assigned a -_-e not intended to be perceived as personal property no r in rpretedas a salary supplement or fr inge benefit . The co mm uting costs of the use of a Co tyvehicle m ay be a taxable fr inge benefi t cost to an employee. An y vehicle not spe if icallydesignated as exemp t under the 1985 Tax Act (Attachment I ) , shall result in a tax blefringe benefi t to the em ployee. The Dale C ounty Personnel/Payroll Clerk is to bnotif ied and shall compute the comm uting cost of any non-exemp t vehicle taken om e bythe employee an d repo this taxable benefit on the employees Form W -2 at the e d ofeach ca lendar year. Tr . e Dale County C omm ission wil l on ly deduct FICA taxes thecost of the benefit . Nc Federal or State income taxes will be deducted b y the Co ty, the

paym ent of these taxes will be the responsibil i ty of the em ployee, when his or h epersonal incom e tax return is f i led. The g ross cost of th is benefit is not subject t s tateretirement deductions.

Overnight assignm ent will not typically be granted to any emp loyee that l ives outside of af ive-mile (5) radius f rc m the nearest pr imary C ounty l imit boundary of the C ounty,unless specif ically approved by the C ounty M anager.



Mileage Reimbursem ent:

The D epa r tment Head may au thor ize mi leage re imbursem ent for an employee who m us t

u t i li ze h i s /he r pe r sona l veh ic le to cond uc t Cou nty Bus iness and w ho rece ives no o the rform of a l lowan ce , except as otherwise provided within this pol icy:

s Com mu t ing m i eage to r e spond to an a f t e r-hours ca l l-back or unscheduled r e turnto work is cons: dered off ic ia l County bu siness.

s Cla ims for m i leage r e imbursem ent a f te r approva l o f the i r Depa r tment H ea l sha l lbe turned in to the Da le Cou nty Com miss ion Of f ice for approva l wi th in one

mo nth and sha l l be in accordance wi th cur ren t tr ave l expense r e im bursementprocedure s .

s Th e s tandard ra t e of mileage re imbu rsemen t is the same ra te current ly in e f fec t bythe S ta te o f Alabam a. M i leage is re imbursed f rom the em ployee ' s du ty s t ton o r

em ployee ' s ho rn e to the des t ina t ion , whichev er i s the le sse r mi leage . Mi le ewi l l be pa id fo r he sh or tes t usua lly t rave led rou te .s M i le a ge R e i m b u s e m e n t F o r m s a r e a va i l ab l e in t he D a l e Co u n t y Co m m i ss o n

office.

DRIVER RESPON SIBILITIES / REQU IREMENTS

Each d r ive r o f any Coun ty own ed vehic le m us t have a va l id d r ive rs /opera to r ' s li ce se .

Shou ld an emp loyee who d r ives a Coun ty ow ned veh ic le be in any inc iden t , on o r f f thejob , whe re the i r l ic ense i s suspended or r evoked , the em ployee i s ob l iga ted to in fothe i r D epar tmen t H ead and Personne l Cle rk imm edia te ly . Fa i lu re to in fo rm the C un tyof a suspended or r evoked l ic ense m ay re su l t in im m edia te d i smis sa l .

Co unty em ployees , who dr ive veh ic les we igh ing m ore than 26 ,000 pounds or a veh ic leta r ry ing s ix teen (16) or more pa s senge r s , mus t have a va l id Com m erc ia l C la s s B 1 ense

with a passenger endors . .m en t . Cou n ty emp loyees who d r ive vehic les wi th a t ra ile mus t

have a va l id Co mm erc ia l C la s s A l i cense i f requi red by l aw.

Em ployees au thor ized to dr ive or who a re a s s igned a C ounty ow ned veh ic le a re su ject to

an annu a l r ev iew of the i r motor veh ic le dr iv ing s t a tus wi th the S ta te of Alabama .

Em ployees may b e r eques ted to p rov ide a dr iv ing h i s tory a s needed . The D epa r tm nt

Head, the Pe r sonne l C le rk , and the Co unty M anage r may rev iew d r iv ing p r iv i l ege on a

case-by-case basis .

Em ployees a re re spons ib le for any veh ic le or equipment a s s igned to them an d m usrepor t unsafe opera t ions or w orking con di t ions to the ir supervisor as soon as p oss i a le .

Em ployees sha l l a l low su f f ic ien t time to reach des t ina t ions wi thou t v io la t ing sp ee l imi t sor traffic laws. Employ must know and abide by all driving laws in all areas w ere

they ope ra te Co unty v eh ic le s and sha l l d r ive de fens ive ly a t a l l times .



I t is m an d a t o ry t ha t a l l o ccu pan t s o f a Co u n t y veh i c l e u se sea t b e l t s a t a l l ti mes . T he

d r i ve o f t he veh i c le i s r e spo n s i b l e fo r en fo rc in g sea t b e l t u sage b y a l l o ccu pan t s an d sha l l

repo r t an y f a i lu re t o co m pl y w i t h em pl o y ee ' s su pe rv i so r . Re fe r t o t he Da l e C o u n t yCo m m i ss io n S ea t Be l t Po l icy fo r fu r t he r d e t a i ls .

Da l e C o u n t y w i ll n o t pay t ra f f ic t i ck e ts o r pa rk i n g f i n e s o f em pl o y ees d r i v i n g C o u n t y

o w n ed veh i c l e s , n o r w i l l the C o u n t y pay i f t he em pl o y ee i s au t ho r ized t o u se t he i r

pe rso n a l veh i c l e o n Co u n t y b u s i n ess . Em pl o y ees fo u n d gu i l t y o f mo vi n g v i o l a t io n s m aybe subjec t to correc t ive ac t ion .

A n em pl o y ee rece i v i n g a mo vi n g v i o l a ti o n w hi l e d r iv i n g a Co u n t y veh i c l e ha s an

o b l i ga ti o n t o im m ed i a te l y i n fo rm t he i r Depa r t men t H ead an d t he Pe rso n n e l C l e rk .

T h e Pe rso n n e l Dep a r t men t w i ll r equ es t t he She r i f f 's o f f i ce to i n ves t i ga t e a p ro spec t i ve

em pl o y ee ' s d r i v in g reco rd i f t he d u t ie s o f t he po s i t io n m ay i n vo l ve o p e ra t io n o f C o u n t y

owned/insured vehicles. After the applicant is hired, a copy of the applicant's driving

record will become a part of the Personnel file. Minimal driving infractions will noti mped e d r i v i n g p r i v i leges .

I f the D epa r t men t H ead has rea so n t o b e l i eve an em pl o y ee i s n o t phy s i ca l ly f i t to d r i ve

t hey m ay requ es t a phy s i ca l c e r t if i c a ti o n t o in c l u d e an ey e ex am a t the em pl o y ee ' sexpense .

INSURANCE OF VEHICLES

T h e Co u n t y M an age r i s r e spo n s i b l e fo r ma i n t a i n in g ad eq u a t e l iab i l it y an d co l l is i o n

co ve rage fo r a l l Da l e Co u n t y a s s i gn ed an d u n ass i gn ed v eh i c l e s.

Fo r i n su ran ce pu rpo ses , e ach em pl o y ee au t ho r i zed t o o pe ra t e a Co u n t y o w n ed veh i c l e

m u s t p ro v i d e t he P e rso n n e l O f f ice w i th a co p y o f t he i r va l i d d r ive r ' s li c en se .

T h e C o u n t y ' s in s u r a n c e is i n f o r c e w h e n a n e m p l o y e e o p e r a te s C o u n t y o w n e d v e h i c l e s o r

e q u i p m e n t .

Pro pe r t y b e l o n g i n g t o D a l e Co u n t y l o ck ed i n s i d e a veh i c l e i s co ve red b y t he Co u n t y 's

i n su ran ce aga i n s t the f t ; ho w eve r , pe r so n a l p ro pe r t y s t o len f ro m a Co u n t y -o w n ed v eh i c l e

i s n o t co ve red , even i f t he pe rso n a l p ro pe r t y i s u sed fo r Co u n t y b u s i n ess . If your County

vehicle is stolen, follow these proced ures:

s Repo r t t he the f t im m ed i a t e ly t o the l o ca l po l ice an d t he Co u n t y M an age r .

s O b t a in a co py o f t he po l i ce repo r t f il ed .

s Pro v i d e t he Co u n t y M an age r w i th t he d a t e an d l o ca ti o n o f w he re t he t he f t

o ccu r red an d a l l r e levan t i n fo rm a t i o n , in c l u d i n g t he p o l i ce repo r t .



s Provide the County M anager with a l is t by mod el and serial number of anyequipment sto. en.

s Forw ard the com pleted incident report and/or Police Report to the CountyManager within three days.

MAINTENANCE OF VEHICLES

Em ployees with assigned County-owned vehicles are responsible for monthly inspectionof their vehicles. Schduling of routine m aintenance and repairs is the responsibil i ty ofthe employee to whom the vehicle is assigned.

Individual departments are responsible for m onthly inspect ions of unass igned veh ic l es

and scheduling routin maintenance and repairs.

No al terat ions m ay be m ade to Co unty-owned vehicles without pr ior wri tten approval by

the Department Head or C ounty Manager.

No b um per stickers, c ther than Co unty approved stickers may be placed o n the 'vehicles.

Each d epartment is responsible for m aintaining accurate and com plete maintenancehistory of files for each assigne d vehicle. It is the responsibility of the employ ee withassigned vehicles and the department for unassigned v ehicles to provide the Dale CountyCom mission O ffice with receipts for maintenance and /or repairs.

FUEL CONSERVATION PLAN

Em ployees should always be at tent ive to conserve fuel on a day to day basis . Al t imes(i.e. fuel shortage and rising fuel costs), it is necessary to take further steps to a ssure thateach dep artment is dc ing their part in this important issue.

If a vehicle is going to be stopped for a period o f time the engine is to be turned off toconserve fuel.

ACCIDENT PROCEDURES

Regardless of the situation, the follow ing p r o c e d u r e M U S T b e f o l lo w e d i n th e e v e n t o f a naccident while in a C minty own ed vehicle:

s No tif ication cf t he p roper l aw enforcement agency immediately for accidentinvestigation.

s Imm ediate notif ication of the employee's supervisor or Departme nt Heals Imm ediate not if ication of the Dale C ounty Co mm ission so the insurance carr ier

can be n otified.



ust bele a

nsibili ty

onab lyng. Not

• n o r

nor to a

ounty

e if arsonnel

es for

the County M anage r wi th in 24 hou r of the acc ident .ve s t iga t ion F orm (At tachment I I ) mu s t be com ple ted by

ervisor and subm it ted to the Safe ty Co ordina tor to be rev

Com mit tee Mee t ing .

loyee in jury , an Em ploye r ' s F i r st Repor t o f In jury Form

ed to the P ersonnel Clerk as soon as poss ible in order to

n c la im.i t es timates and appro val of ac tua l repa ir work is the resp

a r tment w i th a s s i s tance f rom the Coun ty M anage r .

s N ot i fi ca t ion o

s A n A c c id e n t

e m p l o y e e 's Sthe next Safe •

In t he even t o f an em !

comple t ed and submiworkers ' com pensa t iSecuring accident re

of the employee ' s de

e

e w e d a t

PO' T ACCIDENT SUBSTANCE ABUSE TESTING

A n e m p l o y e e w h o i scould have been pe r -

every incident or in j

inac t ion by the em plreques t for tes t ing.

reasonable de termin.M anage r may rev ie

drug and/or a lcohol

Pol ic ie s and ProcedDrug and/or Alcoho

involv ed in an acc iden t or inc ident , in wh ich there is , or rna l injury or proper ty dam age, wil l be considered for tes

m ay re su l t in a t e s t . Reasonable d e te rmina t ion tha t a c t i

yee cont r ibu ted to the inc ident or a cc ident sha l l be m ade*le i t is imp oss ible to l is t every fac tor tha t might lead to

t ion , the Dep a r tment Head , the Pe r sonne l C le rk , and the

each acc ident or inc ident on a case-by-case bas is to de te

s t is necessa ry . Re fe r to the Da le Co unty C om m iss ion P

es Handbo ok Sec t ion XVI Pol icy S ta temen t and ProcedTest ing for fur ther informat ion.

•

•

s Depar tments

m u s t p r o v id :s Budge ted , .

approved byvehicle. Inf.

•

OUNTY VEHICLE PURCHASING POLICY

r eques t ing cap i t a l m otor veh ic le funds du r ing the budg e t . roces san es t imated total cost of vehic le purchases d es ired.

e m e r ge n c y n o n - b u d ge t ed , Co u n t y ve h i c l e pu r c ha s es m t b ee C o m m i ss io n prior to the issuance o f a pu r c ha s e o r d e r o r s a i d

a t ion to be provided inc ludes :

o A d eopt io

o A g e ,

usedo Alte

o P r o p ivehi.

justi

l ed desc r ip ion of the veh ic le to be pu rchased inc luding p op osed

era l desc r ip t ion o f the wo rk appl ica t ion fo r which the y e c le wi l l be

a t ive veh ic le purchase op t ions

sed purchase p r ice and p roposed p urchase p r ice for ahem t ive

e opt ions — inc ludes l is t of loca l dea lers i f bids a re to be o ta ined, orca t ion for b uying f rom Sta te b id l i st

s At the t ime .

C o m m i s s i oserv ice.

Cou nty D epa r tment r eques t s a purchase orde r for a new v h ic le, theOf f ice i s to be not i f ied of an y veh ic le s tha t a re coming ou o f



s A l l p a p e r w o r k

on i t (not the ir.

nvo lv ing a 'v eh ic l e pu rchase shou ld have the Co m m iss ion

d i v id u a l d e p a r t m e n t ' s P O B o x ) .

ad d re ss

T h i s D a l e C o u n t y V e h i2013.

c le Use P o l i cy i s e f fec t ive up on i t app rov a l , th i s t heay of

C o m m i s si o n C h a i a n



ATTACHMENT IExempt Vehicles

1985 Tax Act

Vehicles which are qualifi d non-personal vehicles include the following:

Clearly marked police and fire vehicles,

Ambulances used as such or hearses used as such,

• Any vehicle designed to carry cargo with a loaded gross vehicle weight over 14,000 pounds,

• Bucket Trucks ("cherry pickers"),

• Cement Mixers,

• Combines,

• Cranes and derricks,

• Delivery trucks with seating for only the driver, or only for the driver plus a folding jump seat,

• Dump trucks (including gabage trucks),

Flatbed trucks,

Forkl i f t s ,

Passenger buses used as such with a capacity of at least 20 passengers,

Qualified moving vans,

• Qualified specialized utility repair trucks,

• Refrigerated trucks,

• School buses,

• Tractors and other special urpose farm vehicles, and

• Unmarked vehicles used by law enforcement officers if the use is officially authorized.



ATTACHMENT II

Dale County CommissionAccident Investigation Form

Location:

Date Com pleted:

Time:

Department :Com pleted by:

Accident Date:

Personal Injury

Lmployee IN ame:Position:

Description of Accider t : (Wh at occurred? Include pho tos if available)

W itnesses: (Anyone w ho may have seen the accident)

N a m e Contact Information

N a m e Contact Information

Corrective Actions: (Actions taken to prevent recurrence)

Copies to:ept . Headafety Coordinatorafety Com mit tee

proposed vehicle policy by dale county commission chairman mark blakenship and "some"...

Documents