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COUNTY OF SAN MATEO
Inter-Departmental Correspondence
County Manager’s Office
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DATE:
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11/8/2010
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BOARD MEETING DATE:
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12/7/2010
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SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:
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None
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VOTE REQUIRED:
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None
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TO:
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Honorable Board of Supervisors
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FROM:
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David S. Boesch, County Manager
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SUBJECT:
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Follow-up Response to San Mateo County’s Vehicle Fleet Management and Employee Vehicle Reimbursement Programs Grand Jury Report
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RECOMMENDATION:
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Accept the County Manager’s recommendation to allow the current vehicle allowance policy to remain unchanged.
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BACKGROUND:
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On July 6, 2010, the FY 2009-10 Grand Jury submitted a report to the Board of Supervisors titled: San Mateo County’s Vehicle Fleet Management and Employee Vehicle Reimbursement Programs. The County Manager responded to the report on September 28, 2010, and asked for more time to analyze the Grand Jury’s recommendations related to vehicle allowances paid to employees as part of their total compensation. The initial Grand Jury report recommended reducing the bi-weekly allowances received by San Mateo County employees to the average of the vehicle allowances received by employees in the counties of Santa Clara, Marin, and San Francisco. A second recommendation was to discontinue vehicle allowances received by non-elected and non-department head County employees.
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DISCUSSION:
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Although the County could realize savings by implementing the Grand Jury’s recommendations, the reduction or elimination of vehicle allowances is not the answer to solving the structural budget deficit problem. After analyzing the issue, the County Manager’s Office disagrees with the Grand Jury’s recommendations to 1) decrease the bi-weekly vehicle allowance for San Mateo County employees and; 2) discontinue vehicle allowances received by non-elected and non-department head employees.
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The average bi-weekly vehicle allowance paid to San Mateo County employees is $397. A total of 69 employees receive this benefit. This amount is $77 more than the average bi-weekly vehicle allowance of $320 received by employees in Santa Clara County and Marin County. The Grand Jury incorrectly reported that elected officials and department heads employed by the City and County of San Francisco received between $300 and $400 in bi-weekly vehicle allowances. The San Francisco Controllers Payroll / Personnel Services Division verified that the County does not pay a vehicle allowance to department heads or elected officials. Reducing the San Mateo vehicle allowances by an average of $77 bi-weekly would not generate enough savings to justify a change in total employee compensation.
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Similarly, discontinuing the vehicle allowance for non-elected and non-department head employees would not yield a significant benefit. If these employees no longer received a vehicle allowance, it would be necessary to provide them with a vehicle for County business or reimburse each employee for business related mileage, which would reduce the savings generated by eliminating the vehicle allowances. Finally, vehicle allowances are included when comparing compensation with surveyed counties and reducing or discontinuing vehicle allowances could cause the organization to loose advantage in future recruiting processes.
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Approval of this report contributes to the Shared Vision of 2025 of a Collaborative Community by ensuring that overall County compensation is in line with that of surrounding counties.
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FISCAL IMPACT:
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There is no fiscal impact to accepting the recommendation.
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