BLOOMINGTON - Sixty-two Bloomington employees get daily rides to and from work at taxpayers' expense. | See the list of city vehicles taken home

About one of every five cars and trucks owned by the city is taken home after work by an employee, according to city officials and records obtained by The Pantagraph through the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.

While the list includes public service workers and undercover police officers, it also includes a deputy city manager, two people from the motor pool, a fire department training officer and a city planner.

Some get cars because they have to attend night meetings.

The list is also notably longer than the 36 employees in the town of Normal who typically take home vehicles.

In fact, the city owns so many vehicles, it pays for private parking for some.

And as the City Council wrangles with a $3 million shortfall in its $75 million general fund budget, at least one alderman is questioning the practice.

"Why are we doing it?" said Ward 4 Alderwoman Judy Stearns. "(Sixty-two) vehicles seems like a luxury, and we should look at whether it is worth the cost."

After-hours use varies

Bloomington owns 509 vehicles, but that tally includes things like backhoes, lawn mowers and Zambonis. Director of Fleet Management Dan Augstin estimated the city owns about 316 cars and trucks, including squad cars and fire trucks.

Employees from eight departments are given keys to the 62 that go home each night.

The city has no estimate on the total price tag, including such things as vehicle cost, gasoline, maintenance and insurance, though an analysis is under way that will be given to the City Council in the coming months.

"There is more to the costs than just gas," City Manager Tom Hamilton said. "There is a difference in response times, along with overtime, mileage and paying for parking."

Employees who take home vehicles also must report the benefit, valued at $3 per day under Internal Revenue Service guidelines, on their taxes. City rules say they can drive the vehicles only on city business.

Most city department administrators say they send cars home with employees who may be called back into work for an emergency. But the number of times an employee is called out varies among departments and jobs.

For instance, Augstin and Superintendent of Fleet Management Rob Krones said they are each called in two to three evenings a week. Not only are they on call when a city vehicle breaks down, but the city's auto shop is also open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Augstin, issued a 2007 Chevy Impala E85, said they frequently return to work to supervise late repair projects.

But City Planner Ken Emmons, issued a 2000 Ford Crown Victoria, and Division Manager Connie Griffin, given a 1996 Ford Windstar van, are issued vehicles because it is cheaper than paying their mileage to attend evening meetings, said their boss, Mark Huber, Planning and Code Enforcement Department director. That's because mileage would begin accruing from their homes, he said.

And while it doesn't happen often, administrative officers in the Bloomington Fire Department, including training officer Mike Kimmerling, can be called in to take command of a fire scene, said Fire Chief Keith Ranney. Kimmerling takes home a 2002 Windstar.

"It does happen and we go directly to the scene," said Ranney, who takes home a Ford Escape Hybrid.

Customer service

Regardless of how often they are called, several department administrators said the ability for employees to respond is a matter of customer service.

"In an emergency, we would rather dispatch these people from their homes rather than wait for them to come into town and pick up a city vehicle," said Water Director Craig Cummings. "And in a water emergency, I think our customers would prefer we get to them as quickly as we possibly can."

Also, overtime costs start when the on-call employee leaves their homes, Cummings said.

Kurt Haas, assistant superintendent of streets and sewers, estimates he is called in two to three times a week, typically when a sewer line back up into a resident's basement or collapses in a city street.

"And if you've got a sewer backing up in your basement, a 15-minute response time is better than 30 minutes," Haas said.

And City Engineer Doug Grovesteen maintains it is about $2,000 cheaper to send 14 vehicles home with him and 13 employees, even with gas prices hovering around $3 a gallon.

For one thing, the city pays about 45 cents less for a gallon of gasoline because it does not pay fuel taxes.

The city also does not have enough space for all of its vehicles, so Grovesteen and his employees store vehicles in a parking garage at Front and East streets. Vehicles taken home save city storage fees of $40 per month per vehicle.

Huber and Cummings said they routinely look at vehicle use and have cut the number going home by half or more in the past four years. Huber will consider whether a pool of cars for building inspectors to use will be adequate for his department.

Although the top administrator for the city, Hamilton does not take home a vehicle.

"Councils in the past have offered but I don't want one for this very reason," Hamilton said. "I don't want to have to deal with the hassles."

---

Coming this weekend:

More on the city's budget

Sunday

- What factors created the city of Bloomington's $3 million budget shortfall, and what expenses should be scrutinized to help solve it?

- Should an administrator who earns a six-figure salary teach gift-wrapping to city employees?

Monday

- A combination of budget cuts and tax and fee increases likely will be used to solve the city's current budget woes. But Bloomington Mayor Steve Stockton warns more fee increases may be looming.