By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — No one would argue that the police chief, fire chief and mayor should have access to a city car 24/7. But how about other police officers, fire department officials, and employees of zoning, engineering, public works and other city departments?

The matter of municipal car use — the equivalent of an industry executive being issued a “company car” — has come under scrutiny in light of current budgetary constraints.
An ad hoc City Council task force met Wednesday to discuss strategies for exploring the necessity of issuing various vehicles, and to talk about tightening existing policies.
City Councilor Henry Kinch Jr., who called for the task force, said he and other council members have received numerous calls about abuses. Aside from the fact that some of the employees live in far-off cities and towns in the western or southern part of Rhode Island, Kinch said he has heard about people using the cars for weekend recreational trips or driving children to out-of-state colleges.
Until recently, there were 22 cars issued to city employees (not counting the mayor, police and fire chiefs). Earlier this year, three were taken away from Fire Department employees, Mayor James Doyle said at least three more were being evaluated for possible removal.
In each case, employees are allowed to take the vehicles home at night, but are not supposed to use them on any “unofficial business.” However, according to numerous sources, the usage is not tightly monitored, leaving a lot of “gray areas” as to what is or is not “official business,” along with cases of blatant abuse.
According to city ordinance 63-31, municipally owned vehicles can be taken home if the individual is authorized to be on “emergency call status” and if that status relates to “public safety.”
A related ordinance, 63-32, states that employees whose duties require extensive travel may be authorized by supervisors to use department vehicles. However, it further reads that while these vehicles may be taken home, “they shall not be used for personal use.” It also states, “Any person violating this provision shall be reported to the City Council.”
According to Kinch, the employees are issued a gasoline card, which is swiped at a municipal gasoline pump. While the mileage and gasoline consumption can be tracked, he maintains that it is not being closely watched.
Kinch said that at the task force’s next meeting on June 25, Finance Director Ronald Wunschel and the person who handles the muncipal gasoline cards will report to the committee on vehicle use. He said the task force will be looking into possible caps on the amount of fuel obtainable through the gas card.
According to documents provided by Finance Director Ronald Wunschel, for the 10 months between July 1, 2007, and May 1, 2008, gasoline consumption ranged from a low of 266.6 gallons to a high of 1,800 gallons. While most employees’ consumption for the period averaged 400 to 600 gallons, the usage for others more frequently on the road averaged roughly 1,650 gallons.
Kinch said the task force will discuss some issues not covered in the current ordinances, such as travel logs and mileage repayment. He also said the committee intends to look into the cost of insuring the vehicles to see what the savings would be if the majority are pulled out of service and “mothballed.”
Both Kinch and the mayor have noted that the number of municipal positions with cars attached as, essentially a job perk has grown over the years. Kinch said he and other council members think an evaluation should start from “zero-based car use.”
“Unless a car is found to be absolutely essential to an employee’s job, we’re going to call them in,” Kinch said. “This is not part of your compensation. You come to work and you get paid. The idea that you should somehow get a car because you deserve it is not going to wash at all.”
Doyle announced that his office is also reviewing use of municipal cars. In addition to the aforementioned Fire Department vehicles, Doyle said two more are being pulled from the Department of Public Works.
The use of two take-home Police Department vehicles has been justified, the mayor said. However, current gas prices dictate a closer look at the ordinances and at the size of the fleet, Doyle said.
Since the initial Times article about the mayor’s cutback in municipal car use, several Tele-Times callers have alleged various abuses on the part of city employees, and spoke out about there being too many employees with city vehicles.