Sheesh.........

Goose · Jun 2, 2017

I was coming back from a conference in Kearney, Nebraska today, driving a county owned 2015 Chevy Impala. The speed limit on I-80 is 75 and I had the cruise set on 80.

While I was rolling along, I got to wondering about the wisdom of driving a car with county government plates 5 mph over the posted limit. About that time, a car with state government plates passed me. He must have been going 10 over.

Our county has several '15 and '16 Impalas, a '16 Cruze, and a '16 Dodge Caravan for officials to drive to conferences, meetings, etc. It may seem like an extravagance but for what we can buy them for, with grants, government discounts, etc., it's cost effective to maintain these vehicles instead of paying people mileage to drive their own vehicles. And they're always busy. If you need one, you have to reserve it a week or two in advance.

PaGlenn · Jun 2, 2017

I remember back in 1994 when I borrowed vehicles from the state motorpool. I always asked for one with cruise control. They laughed and said that those were reserved for the big wigs.

matthies · Jun 2, 2017

Since we are both from Nebraska, and I am a state employee, my head person in charge of the roads in Northeast Nebraska had to have a Prius to drive instead of the Crown Vic that was there before she arrived. So we take the Vic to the state auction and she gets her Prius, but guess who had to always go jump start the Prius since she never drove it, she liked to run around after meetings in Lincoln, so she took her personal car and got paid mileage!! Had that car for five years and less than 10k for miles. And of course took it to the auction since the next person in charge didn't want it either. But wouldn't let anybody else use there personal cars for meetings. And boss now is a slob inside his vehicle, sunflower shells everywhere. Hurts morale.

Goose · Jun 2, 2017

If I have errands to run, or just want to go sight-seeing after a meeting, I'll drive my own vehicle, but I won't submit a mileage claim.

Dick2 · Jun 3, 2017

I supervised the ADOT Motor Pool, among my other duties. Other state employees were often a problem, but our system tracked the vehicle back to who had signed it out. Those cars were sent out for detailing at a professional car wash and the org was charged for the cleaning. I don't know if they ever collected from the individual or not, but I got our money!

With our communication system, I often got the call about a state vehicle involved in a traffic violation - even before the vehicle got back to the motor pool. Those usually resulted in letters of reprimand in their employee file, which usually translates into "No Promotion for you". We had some employees resign after getting a letter of reprimand.

Goose · Jun 3, 2017

I'm elected, so I guess my constituents would have to reprimand me.

Seriously, we had a conversation about this just a week or so ago. One fellow told of how recently, after a meeting broke up, a group stopped at a local tavern to eat. The tavern was known for good chow, and that's all they did. Eat with no drinking beyond soft drinks or coffee. During the meal, however, it occurred to one of the group that they had four government vehicles parked in front of a tavern and questioned the wisdom of it.

Nothing was ever said about it beyond that, and probably no one gives it a thought in a small town where everyone knows everyone else and the tavern might be known to be the best place to eat.

Makes for interesting conversation, though, and it's a reminder that the public is always judging public servants, regardless of venue.

Dick2 · Jun 3, 2017

One of the girls that worked in my area took a couple days off to go with relatives to Laughlin, NV, for some gambling. She noticed one of the pool cars in a casino parking lot at 11:00 a.m.; it was still there at 4:30 p.m. Our rules said that we could cross the river after 5:00 p.m. to get a lower rate on a motel, but we had to be back across the river by 8:00 a.m.

I called the guy's boss and told him he better take disciplinary action against the employee or I would. He said the guy's log book showed that he didn't cross the river until after 5:00 p.m. The boss said: "What can you do anyway, I'm his boss?" So I showed him what I could do: I banned him from signing out a state vehicle. If he wanted to continue to do his job, he had to drive his own vehicle with compensation by the state. Never heard anymore about him, so I assumed he got a different job. He's also the guy who smoked in the pool vehicles even though it was against regulations; it cost his org $45 to clean the vehicle every time he returned a vehicle to the motor pool.

Sheesh.........

Goose

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PaGlenn

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matthies

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Goose

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Dick2

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Goose

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Dick2

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