§ 2-1715. Private use of municipally owned vehicles.

(a)

The use of any municipally owned vehicle by any official or employee for any purpose other than the city's business is prohibited. These vehicles must be used solely and exclusively for municipal purposes. No city vehicle shall be driven to the employee's home or residence at night on a regularly assigned basis, unless permission is secured in accordance with this section. No passengers shall be transported in city-owned motor vehicles except when transportation of passengers is necessary for the conduct of the city's business. City employees who are authorized to drive city vehicles home at night may transport other city employees as long as there is no more than a minimal variation between the work station and residence of the city employee so authorized. When city-owned vehicles are driven home at night, they shall be parked off the street and preferably under cover.

(b)

Authorization to drive a city-owned vehicle home overnight on a regularly assigned basis shall be granted only when the following criteria have been met:

(1)

A minimum of 30 approved callbacks have been documented for the employee during the preceding six months. The term "approved callbacks" means the employee returning to work after duty hours for nonroutine work essential to the public well being or the employee attending an authorized meeting as an official representative of the city at the direction of the appropriate department head; or

(2)

Extenuating circumstances exist which make the use of emergency mileage reimbursement impractical. Such circumstances include the following:

a.

The existence of unique tools, radios or other equipment located in or needing to be transported in the city vehicle, which equipment would be essential to the employee in performing the emergency work;

b.

Personal circumstances of the employee, such as the unavailability of a personal vehicle; and

c.

The need for security for the vehicle not obtainable at the work site.

(c)

Authorization to drive a city-owned vehicle home overnight on a regularly assigned basis shall be granted by the mayor every six months by executive order through such procedure as may be established by the mayor or designee. A list of all authorizations for regular overnight use shall be filed with the municipal clerk and the committee on finance of the council on or within ten days of April 1 and October 1 of each year. This list shall contain the full name and address, work station, position number and classification, city vehicle number, one-way mileage to the employee's home, miles driven for the previous reporting period and the number of callbacks for the previous reporting period or such other basis as may exist for the authorization. Authorization for nonregular, emergency or temporary overnight driving assignments shall be made at the discretion of the department head. Temporary overnight driving assignments shall include those assignments necessary to provide for vacation replacements, employee termination, employee reassignments or other such overnight driving assignments of a temporary nature only. The use of emergency or other temporary overnight authorizations shall be reported by the mayor in the same manner as the authorizations for regular use.

(d)

Department heads shall be responsible for the compliance with this section by the employees within their departments.

(e)

This section shall not apply to the mayor or to department heads with respect to vehicles assigned for their personal use.

(f)

This section shall not apply to the police chief, fire chief and commissioner of corrections. The police chief or designee is authorized to select, at the police chief's discretion, sworn members of the department of police who reside in the city who shall be permitted to drive city-owned marked patrol vehicles home overnight on a regularly assigned basis. Usage of the vehicle shall be restricted to the city. The sworn members who have received permission to drive city-owned vehicles home overnight shall be allowed the full use of the city vehicles; the restrictions of subsection (a) of this section, with the exception of the requirement of a state driver's license to drive a city-owned vehicle, are not applicable to this section.

(Code 1977, § 5-4026)