By Nancy Peckenham
Should top city employees be given city-owned vehicles to make it easier for them to respond to crises and other demands of their jobs?
Acting city manager Richard Herbek says ‘yes’ that city officials like the heads of the water department and the public works department, the city engineer and police and fire chiefs need access to a vehicle that is stocked with equipment that can be put to use in an emergency. He told city council members Christine Bello and Marge Bell, who questioned the expenditure for these vehicles during a council work session last Thursday, that the vehicles “are part of the job.”
Councilwoman Bello proposed eliminating some of the vehicles used by department heads as a cost-cutting measure for the city that is swimming in red ink. Her fellow councilmember Marge Bell endorsed the suggestion, noting that the daily use of the vehicles created wear and tear on vehicles the city may not be able to afford to replace.
Herbek argued that the savings could be greater if an official can quickly get to a site, like a water main break, to begin making repairs. Mayor Nicholas Valentine agreed with Herbek, who also said he would provide a report of home many times city officials responded to emergencies in city-owned vehicles last year and to measure gas consumption
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