County strips employees of emergency vehicles

Adrienne Packer

Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2000 | 10:54 a.m.

Nearly half of the Clark County vehicles assigned to employees for 24-hour emergency use were deemed unnecessary by an administrative committee that interviewed department heads in the last month.

The emergency vehicle fleet was reviewed after an internal audit conducted in October 1999 showed some divisions had taken advantage of the privilege.

County Manager Dale Askew reduced the fleet Monday from 79 vehicles to 42 after the Automotive Review Committee -- made up of two assistant county managers, the finance director and the internal auditor -- released its findings.

Although the reduction is significant, it is less severe than internal auditor Jeremiah Carroll initially suggested after his review.

"After review of available records of actual emergency responses, we estimate that as many as 60 of the 79 vehicles listed on the automotive's records as being authorized 24-hour vehicles are not really needed for that purpose," Carroll wrote last year.

County officials said the vehicles, which employees are permitted to take home after business hours, should be reserved for employees who frequently respond to emergencies.

The excess number of vehicles issued and the fact that some were more lavish than necessary resulted in unnecessary expenses to taxpayers and increased liability had an accident occurred, according to the audit.

Clark County spokesman Doug Bradford said the county is looking into how much the emergency vehicles cost the county and how much will be saved.

The Public Works Department was hardest hit by the investigation, losing 23 of its 41 vehicles. The airport division lost 10 of its 18 vehicles and the animal control division was actually awarded another emergency vehicle.

Facilities manager Bill Barrett, who was reprimanded earlier this year for campaigning for Commissioner Mary Kincaid on county time, was also stripped of his vehicle.

The 1999 audit wasn't the first to show that county departments had taken advantage of the 24-hour vehicle privilege. A 1990 review resulted in 70 vehicles being taken away, but shortly thereafter 52 were reinstated.

To ensure the fleet doesn't gradually increase in size again, the county adopted new rules governing the use of the vehicles. A Vehicle Review Committee was created to oversee the county's new policy.

"The decision is no longer at the departmental director's discretion," Bradford said. "It goes before the review committee and there must be a clear and concise justification for emergency needs."