Use of unmarked cars debated

Friday, March 28, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

But the calls seldom come. In fact, the 25 top-level employees were summoned to emergencies only 12 times during the 18 months ending in December.

The policy of "home storage" of state cars divided members of a Senate-Assembly budget subcommittee examining the DMV's spending plans Thursday.

Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, who heads the subcommittee, doesn't think the statistics justify the policy.

She said the 25 executives run up an average of 14,000 miles a month on the vehicles, which means wear and tear - and that also brings up the question of personal use of the vehicle.

Giunchigliani suggested it may be "perceived as a perk" by these employees and that could cause morale problems with other staff.

Sen. Bernice Mathews, D-Reno, added she was concerned that the cars might be used "to run to the grocery store."

But Sen. Bill O'Donnell, R-Las Vegas, said he saw no problem, adding that the staffers must be on call for emergencies. He suggested it would be a waste of time for the executives to drive back to the office and get an official car.

He told Giunchigliani, "You're beating a dead horse. I know this is one of your hot buttons. But we don't pay these guys very much."

Sen. Lawrence Jacobsen, R-Minden, also backed the policy, saying, "The public demands quick response time." If there are some abuses, that's a management problem, he added.

Uniformed officers in the Nevada Highway Patrol take their cars home at night, but subcommittee members didn't have any complaint about that.

It's the unmarked cars assigned to directors, chiefs, assistant chiefs and others, Giunchigliani said, adding that the policy of assigning the cars "has become too fuzzy over the years. We want additional justification."

Acting DMV chief Ray Sparks said the cars are assigned to sworn officers in administrative positions. They are subject to call-out in emergency situations. For example, he said everyone was called out during the flood earlier this year in Northern Nevada.

But he conceded that some were called into their offices to staff command posts and not into the field.

The decision to assign a car to an individual, Sparks said, "is based on the possibility, not on the probability, of call-out."

And he said the use of the vehicles is closely monitored to prevent abuses. He said the public should notify the department if they suspect any misuse of these vehicles.