SCHENECTADY - There are new rules for the use of city-owned cars in Schenectady. This, after a CBS6 investigation uncovered a staggering number of accidents that drove up insurance costs for the City and in turn the taxpayers.
Two months ago, CBS6 learned that of the 400 city-owned vehicles in Schenectady, 100 of them were involved in an accident last year. "Our insurance rate went from six-hundred and some thousand to two million because of all those accidents," says council member Vince Riggi. Add that, to increasing fuel and maintenance costs and the city just can't keep up. "There's been a lot of complaints from taxpayers about this and we've talked about it as a council," according to Riggi.
That's why, Mayor Gary McCarthy, issued an executive order this week dealing with city-owned vehicle usage. In it, McCarthy says that city vehicles are not to leave city limits except with the prior knowledge and permission of the department head and the Mayor. An employee can not use a city car to commute, if they need it for a job, it gets picked up and brought back as soon as the work is complete. If an employee is involved in an accident of any kind with a city car, the police must come and file a report, pictures of the damage must be taken and a supervisor must be called. For employees who are "on-call" 24/7, the decision about whether they can bring their city car home with them at night will be made by the city council, the mayor and the department-head.
"The city didn't have in place a formal vehicle policy, we're just tightening that up, putting something in place and we're always looking for ways to reduce costs so this gives us better management control, lets employees know what the rules are, just more of a common sense approach to running the city," Mayor McCarthy tells CBS6. Calls to several other municipalities reveal most have had a policy in place similar to this for years.
The Mayor is hoping the policy will cut down on the number of careless accidents that taxpayers end up footing the bill for. "We're tightening that up and next year the results are going to be dramatically different," McCarthy says.
Vince Riggi, the ONE, LONE, SOLE, TRUE REPRESENTATIVE of the TAXPAYERS in the city. HE gets the job done. If not for him, McC would never be doing this.
Now, just need a mandate that ANYONE who "needs" a vehicle 24/7 MUST be MANDATED to live IN the city!!!!!!!!!
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Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
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MobileTerminal
May 23, 2012, 5:16pm
Guest User
CBS6 uncovered this? I thought Virtual Rotterdam has been saying this for a LONG time. Same goes to all the "asst" "deputy" fire chiefs that take their district owned trucks to bars on Broadway several nights a week.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
McMayor also said he would do something about nonresident hiring, pit bulls and assessments. A lot of talk no action. When is McMayor going to start massive layoffs because of 38 years of DEM moron overspending? Riggi for Mayor and a new City Council. After the State Control Board takes over finances from these idiots.
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
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McMayor also said he would do something about nonresident hiring, pit bulls and assessments. A lot of talk no action. When is McMayor going to start massive layoffs because of 38 years of DEM moron overspending? Riggi for Mayor and a new City Council. After the State Control Board takes over finances from these idiots. 
