Commissioners' Car Allowance Bucks Efficient Travel Trend

Published: May 30, 2007

When it comes to spending taxpayer money, consider how Hillsborough County government and the city of Tampa recently decided to fund local travel for its top dogs.

In the county, Administrator Pat Bean chose to double commissioners' car allowances - to $600 a month - one of the most generous car allowances in the state.

In the city, Mayor Pam Iorio chose to trade in her Lincoln Town Car, which clocked a dismal 12 mpg, for a Toyota Camry Hybrid, which gets 40 miles per gallon. The monthly cost of the Camry: a lease of $240 and a substantial fuel cost savings on the average 300 miles a week the mayor travels.

The city also is purchasing 10 Ford Escape Hybrids for departments whose workers are on the road a lot. The expected $4,000 in fuel savings isn't a lot, but it's a step in the right direction.

With fuel costs going through the roof, local governments must find ways to reduce local costs for employee transportation.

Hybrids make sense for a lot of reasons. They reduce fuel costs and because they run on a combination of gasoline and electricity, they emit less exhaust. Nationwide, local governments are joining the hybrid movement through cooperative purchasing agreements that help them get good deals on cars.

In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently announced an ambitious plan to convert the city's 13,000-cab fleet into a completely hybrid force by 2012. The city estimates the increase in fuel efficiency with the hybrid taxis - which get 36 miles to the gallon, up from the typical cab that gets 14 mpg - will save taxi operators more than $10,000 per year and reduce carbon emissions by more than 200,000 tons per year.

Given the demanding driving conditions in New York City, if hybrids can make it there, they can make it anywhere.

Hillsborough government should consider getting onboard the hybrid bandwagon.

In the meantime, commissioners should explore ways to cut fuel costs, which represent a key driver behind the county's increased spending. Included in the review should be those workers who are allowed to take their cars home, drive them for personal use and have taxpayers buy their gas.

At the same time, commissioners should realize that their personal car allowance doesn't pass the smell test. No matter that the rate hadn't increased in 10 years or that they can log hundreds of miles a week doing county business, although their actual mileage is not reported anywhere. Commissioners make nearly $92,000 a year. At a time when everyone else in county government is being asked to justify their spending, elected officials should be expected to do the same.

Taxpayers shouldn't be forced to pay government car allowances that outpace those in the private sector.

A nice hybrid that gets 40 miles to the gallon, now that communicates a totally different message.