Politics & Government

Employee Vehicles Back on the Agenda Tonight

The Village Board may decide tonight whether to enact a new policy that would limit take-home vehicles to police, and eliminate vehicle allowances all together.

trustees have been considering a new employee vehicle policy since July. Tonight, those talks may result in significant changes to the way take-home vehicles and car allowances are handled.

Earlier this month, the Village Board seemed poised to enact a new policy, one that would grandfather in all employees who currently receive cars or vehicle allowances, but would give the board the ability to reconsider those perks as the positions opened up.

But that proposal was 4-2, and talks continued. Tonight, trustees will consider a new draft of the ordinance, one that rejects grandfathering and instead sets specific limits on how village vehicles can be used.

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According to Finance Director Jeff Zoephel, the village currently spends roughly $6,072 per year on fuel for take-home vehicles for four employees: Director Mike Pubentz, Chief Daniel Meyers, and two other members of the police department. The village also pays insurance and upkeep costs on those cars.

Additionally, Village Manager Anne Marie Gaura gets $7,200 a year in vehicle expenses, as guaranteed by contract, while Zoephel gets $1,200 a year. Former Community Development Director Jane Tompkins also received $1,200 a year, but she resigned last month, and her position has not been filled.

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The new proposal, which would take effect on Jan. 1, would see village vehicles offered to four police department positions: chief of police, deputy chief, investigations sergeant and investigations officer. At current, Montgomery does not have a deputy chief, so that would leave three take-home vehicles.

And that would be all that the ordinance allows. Pubentz would no longer have a take-home vehicle, and Zoephel would no longer receive a vehicle allowance.

Under the old proposal, trustees would consider each new hire on a case by case basis, but under this new one, only employees who would need vehicles to respond to emergencies, and live within a 20-mile radius of their place of work, would be eligible to receive village cars.

That alone would leave out Pubentz, the center of much of the discussion over the past month. Pubentz lives in Ottowa, 45 miles from Montgomery, and rarely responds to emergency situations. Trustee Pete Heinz in particular has been vocal about his belief that Pubentz should not have a take-home village vehicle.

Trustees have been told that Gaura’s vehicle allowance is written into her contract, and can’t be rescinded. But Trustee Stan Bond doesn’t believe it – he points to the contract itself, which says Gaura’s benefits can only be reduced if the same reduction applies across the board to all non-union employees. Which a zeroing-out of vehicle allowances would do, he believes.

However, the new ordinance does include language that would ensure that contract – and any other – takes precedence, which Bond would like to see removed.

“I don’t want to encumber the board or this policy in the future with language about contracts,” he said.

Trustee Matt Brolley said he understands wanting to reduce the allowances – “I don’t get paid to drive to work... and with the economic situation we’re in, we can’t be paying people to drive to work,” he said. But he would still like to see current employees grandfathered in, as “a courtesy to our department heads, who have all been here 10 years or longer.”

And, he said, taking away Pubentz’ vehicle is like cutting his pay. Brolley said he would support a salary increase for Pubentz if the ordinance goes through.

Trustee Andy Kaczmarek submitted his own version of the vehicle policy, which will also be on the table tonight. Adapted from the Internal Revenue Service’s employee vehicle policy, Kaczmarek’s take sets very specific limits on how and how often village vehicles can be used, and requires an activity log for each car.

Trustees are also set to , and consider new regulations for awning signs and solar collectors tonight. The Village Board meeting begins at 7 p.m. at , 200 N. River St. It is free and open to the public.


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