By Lisa P. White
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 07/12/2011 02:16:57 PM PDT
Updated: 07/12/2011 02:16:57 PM PDT
MARTINEZ -- Martinez will buy a software system to track vehicle maintenance costs and reduce the number of vehicles employees are allowed to take home in response to a recent report from the Contra Costa County civil grand jury.
The grand jury reviewed the way Contra Costa County and the 19 cities in the county manage the upkeep and use of the fleets of vehicles assigned to police, public works and other departments.
In the report, the grand jury recommended that Martinez consider consolidating its vehicle maintenance facility with the county's, review its practices for purchasing spare auto parts and evaluate the need for city workers to have full-time autos.
In the official response to the grand jury the City Council approved last week, Martinez agreed with two of the report's findings, but rejected others.
Pittsburg and Martinez are the only cities that lease their vehicle maintenance facilities, commonly known as a corporation yard. Martinez pays $18,000 per year for the downtown property where it stores and repairs vehicles and heavy equipment.
Although city leaders have been looking for a place to move the corporation yard for several years, plans to purchase a property on Howe Road fell through last year, as did a proposal to share the school district's corporation yard.
The grand jury recommended that the Martinez council and the county board of supervisors, "explore the feasibility of consolidating their maintenance facilities and maintenance management systems."
The city staff flatly rejected that suggestion. Martinez services about 128 pieces of equipment, including police cars and lawn mowers, at its Berrellesa Street facility, according to the city.
The city staff said the county facility, which is located about six miles from downtown, is inconvenient and too full to accommodate the city's vehicles.
"There's only two full-time employees that do what I would consider an exceptional job keeping our vehicles and other equipment in top condition, and we have very little down time," Public Works Director Dave Scola told the council.
In its report, the grand jury pointed out that Martinez is the only city in the county that does not use a computer program to keep track of vehicle maintenance costs. Such software can track purchase price, repairs, gas mileage and parts used as well as flag dates for smog checks and other routine maintenance services for each vehicle, according to Martinez Public Works Superintendent Bob Cellini, who oversees the city's fleet.
Scola said the city has budgeted $25,000 to buy a software system this year.
The report criticized Martinez and other cities for allowing its staff to take vehicles home, a practice the grand jury said "results in significant taxpayer expense." Currently, five Martinez police officers and four public works employees take vehicles home. Scola said the city will cut that number in half this fiscal year.
The grand jury reviewed the spare parts inventories kept by the county and each city. According to the report, the grand jury used the total spare parts inventory value each city reported on the survey to determine the "per vehicle" value. The reported $20,000 value of the inventory in Martinez amounts to $465 per vehicle, well above the $206 per vehicle average of 11 other government entities.
However, the city staff said the grand jury's methodology was flawed. The $20,000 parts inventory in Martinez is for the entire fleet of 128 pieces of equipment the city owns -- including police cars, dump trucks, riding mowers, city vehicles, a street sweeper -- not just vehicles, according to the city's response.
Counting only cars, pickup trucks, SUVs and vans, the per vehicle value of the inventory falls to about $200, the city says.
Lisa P. White covers Martinez and Pleasant Hill. Contact her at 925-943-8011. Follow her at Twitter.com/lisa_p_white.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18463127
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