Grand Jury Wrong About Merging City/County Vehicle Maintenance Service, Officials Say

Public Works director says that such a move would wind up costing the city more money in maintenance and vehicle downtime.

By Jim Caroompas

July 12, 2011

Despite the conclusions of the grand jury, the city would not save money by merging its vehicle maintenance program with that of the county, said Public Works Director Dave Scola. In fact, such a move likely would cost the city more money.

A March 23 grand jury report concluded that Martinez could save money by closing its leased maintenance yard at the northern end of Alhambra Avenue and instead using the county facility, about six miles away, outside the city limits on Pacheco Boulevard. The county uses a software program that tracks maintenance costs and activities, the report said, and Martinez is the only city in the county that does not use it.

In a reply to the grand jury approved by the city council last week, Scola pointed out that the city maintains its fleet of 128 vehicles, including police cars, with a full-time staff of two mechanics. He said the Police Department is “extremely pleased” with the service it receives from the city’s maintenance program. The county has 1,400 vehicles to maintain, he said, and a staff of nine mechanics. To farm the maintenance work to the county yard probably would result in significant delays and downtime for city vehicles, Scola said.

He added that the city tracks its maintenance activities with software and spreadsheets, but expects to purchase a program this year that will be an improvement over the existing software.

The grand jury also was critical of the city’s abundance of spare parts. It estimated that the city’s cost in spare parts was nearly $500 per vehicle. That, the report said, was far more than the average cost of $206 per vehicle, the total average throughout the county.

Scola responded that the grand jury did not consider the spare parts for all equipment, including backhoes, dump trucks, riding mowers, etc., but only for cars, trucks and SUVs. When the spare parts for all the vehicles are considered, he said, the cost comes down to about $200 per vehicle, below the countywide average.

Scola agreed with the finding that there are too many take-home vehicles for city employees. Nine city vehicles now are being driven home at night by employees on stand-by and emergency response. He said that number will be reduced this year.

http://martinez.patch.com/articles/grand-jury-wrong-about-merging-citycounty-vehicle-maintenance-service-officials-say