Five to Get City Vehicles in 2014

A council consensus agreed on Dec. 16 to authorize use of city-owned vehicles for five officials.

The governing body will vote approval at the annual reorganization on Jan. 6.

The five officials are the mayor, city administrator, public safety/police director, fire chief and superintendent of public Works.

The mayor, city administrator and public safety.police director will have 24-hour use of city-owned vehicles for 2014, if the council approves on Jan. 6. The fire chief and superintendent of Public Works will be given 24-hour use of marked vehicles for the year.

No objections were raised at the agenda-fixing session, although such use has been contentious in years past.

In 2009, Councilman William Reid offered $5,000 of his own money to settle a dispute over authorization of city-owned vehicles. Here is an excerpt from Plaintalker's post:

The big fuss about 24-hour use of city cars may be over with tonight (Feb. 2, 2009), if the City Council heeds William Reid.

The meeting is 8 p.m. in Municipal Court, 325 Watchung Ave.

On Jan. 26, Councilman Reid called for a vote tonight to allow cars to be assigned to City Administrator Marc Dashield and Police Director Martin Hellwig for the balance of 2009. If a policy change is warranted, it could then take place in 2010. Reid went so far as to offer $5,000 of his own money to cover costs of car usage for this year.

The issue came up at the Jan. 1 reorganization when a council majority voted to allow yearlong city car use for the mayor and fire chief, but limited use for the city administrator, Public Works supervisor and police director only through January pending further talks on how the perk fit into compensation packages. All had previously received permission without question.

On Jan. 15, the council approved yearlong 24-hour city vehicle use for Public Works Supervisor John Louise and extended car use for the other two just through February.

But the Jan. 26 discussion broadened into exactly what went into contract talks for top city officials and how costs for use of 24-hour cars were documented. If permission for yearlong use is granted, council members said they still want more facts on how it actually works. 

--Bernice

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