By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — City Council President Henry Kinch Jr. is proposing changes to an ordinance regarding city-owned vehicles that he says will cut the usage down by almost half.

The City Council’s Ordinance Committee will take up the proposed amendments at its meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 4:30. Kinch said that three public hearings have been held on the topic, and department heads and union representatives have had some input.
“I’d garage them all, if I had my way,” said Kinch. He said he believes that unless a municipal employee is required to be accessible ‘round-the-clock, he or she should not be given a city vehicle that can be taken home. In the case of an employee who is required to travel somewhere to conduct city business, he said the employee can just submit a request for reimbursement of mileage.
Kinch, who chairs a committee that was formed last year to study the municipal vehicle use, said he personally believes that only such positions as the police and fire chief, and possibly the building inspector, warrant the take-home use of a city vehicle. He said that, after meeting with various department heads as part of the committee, he has been persuaded that the scope extends to certain other public safety and DPW jobs, but still thinks there are too many vehicles being handed out as job “perks.”
Kinch said the proposed ordinance change will cut the number of take-home vehicles, reportedly at 23, down to 10 or 11, and estimates that the savings on gasoline and maintenance costs could amount to between $60,000 and $75,000. He added that such a savings could, in effect, save two employees from being laid-off in the current budget crisis.

Under the proposed change, the only positions in which an individual will be issued an automobile that is allowed to be garaged at their residence after established work hours are: mayor/director of public safety,  police chief, majors of the police department, fire chief, assistant fire chief, director of public works, superintendent of streets and bridges, traffic engineering supervisor, director of zoning enforcement, and director of emergency management.

The amendment further states that, “All other motor vehicles belonging to the city shall be used for public business, and when not in use, shall be kept in garages provided therefore by the city.”

New language also holds that, except for the 10 positions listed, “no other city vehicle shall be taken home after established work hours unless specific approval is granted by the City Council to a City Vehicle Justification Petition (CVJP) submitted by a duly authorized department head.” This vehicle petition is to first be approved by the mayor or his/her designee, and the City Council is to only consider one petitioned vehicle at a time. The City Council also has the right to reconsider such petitions at any time, according to the ordinance. 

Kinch said the study committee reviewed the ordinance and removed a clause that had allowed department vehicles to be used for positions requiring “extensive travel.” “No one knew  what ‘extensive travel’ really meant,” he said. Also stricken was a provision that had allowed for additional vehicles, other than what was already outlined in the ordinance, to be taken home if the individual was on an “emergency call status” and if such status is related “only to matters of public safety.”

Kinch also said he and other committee members have heard about numerous cases where the privilege has been abused by those who take home the vehicle. Personal use of city vehicles is not allowed under the ordinance, but the councilman said there have been reports about city vehicles being  taken on vacation or used for other leisure-time activities.

Also explicit in the new ordinance is that “no city owned vehicle is to be operated while under the influence of alcohol or any controlled substance.” Kinch stated. “You can’t use the car to go out to dinner, have a few glasses of wine and then jump back in the car and drive home. This is absolutely unacceptable.”

The council president added that he also wants the new ordinance to adhere more strictly to state law in regard to police vehicles.  “There are people driving police vehicles who are not emergency personnel,” Kinch maintained.

Under the proposed change, language has been removed that had stated: “Automobiles shall be automatically provided to the Mayor and the Administrative Assistant to the Mayor.” Also removed was a provision that stated, “telephones and police radios for both vehicles shall be standard.”

Regarding registration plates, language was removed that had stated that all city vehicles, with the exception of certain police vehicles, shall carry “A” registration plates. The revised provision holds that “all city owned vehicles with the exception of vehicles assigned to the Police Department that are used for surveillance and undercover police activities and the police chief shall have registration plates affixed to the vehicle clearly identifying it as a city-owned vehicle.”

It is further stated that no other registration plates shall be issued by the city to identify a city-owned vehicle, with the exception of those that are exempted above. Any registration plates that do not conform to the stated provision are required to be turned in to the Director of Administration upon the amendment’s passage.
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