Unfleet management: State slowly addresses vehicle use

The Union Leader argues that state officials are taking a long time to address the misuse of state vehicles, following an audit released over a year ago.

Gov. Lynch said, "We should not have employees using state cars to commute between home and work."

Administrative Services Commissioner Linda Hodgdon responded, "We need to find out where it's written down that says that."

We need to find out? The audit flagged that as an issue for resolution last September. Hodgdon's department has been required by statute (RSA 21-I:7-a) since 1985 to "monitor state agency activities and evaluate agency operations" in five specific areas, including "fleet operation." That's 24 years of noncompliance with state law.

Editorial Roundup

Both the Union Leader and Concord Monitor editorial pages weigh in on the state's budget problems.

The UL warns against modernizing the Liquor System as a quick fix to fill the budget hole:

Lawmakers can go astray, however, if they start looking at this as an opportunity to balance the state budget with one-time revenue. Four years ago, Maine leased its wholesale liquor operation to a private investment firm for $125 million. Such a figure is enough to tempt legislators who face a big budget deficit and don't really want to cut spending.

But using one-time cash to plug the budget hole is a terrible idea that will only delay the inevitable day of reckoning.

The UL also comments on a recent audit of the state's vehicle fleet:

For instance, most state agencies do not have required policies governing vehicle use. Sixty-nine percent of state vehicles have not been approved by the governor and Executive Council, and agencies simply replace vehicles without determining whether their continued use is needed.

Meanwhile, the Monitor wonders why the Liquor Commission is buying a tricked-out van while the Judicial Branch is looking at severe cuts:

Now about that mobile police van. The van, which is currently in storage, cost $355,000 plus another $67,000 for additions like a heat-seeking camera, subscriptions to satellite TV and radio service and a flat-screen TV that can be used to display evidence or to allow agents to watch the news while waiting to process drunken drivers. The van contains two cells, a bathroom and breath-testing equipment.

The mobile command center no doubt will, as liquor commissioner Mark Bodi says, improve the evidence used in court and prove useful in emergencies. But Bodi practically tied himself in knots while trying to justify its purchase during the worst economic downturn in decades. It will, for example, be helpful when educating people about the dangers of drunken driving, he said. Not while it's in storage, it won't.

Dude, where's my car?

One of the sweetest perks of working your way up the state bureaucratic ladder is a state vehicle. But the Associated Press finds that New Hampshire lacks adequate oversight over how those vehicles are assigned and used:

New Hampshire does a poor job keeping track of the nearly 2,000 passenger vehicles used by state employees, according to a recent audit.

There is no formal statewide monitoring of the vehicles, nor is there any statewide agency in charge of requisitioning, maintaining or disposing of cars. Some departments have written policies and fleet managers; some do not. Instead, each department makes decisions for itself, leading to a dearth of quality data and poor use of resources, the audit found. While some employees are reimbursed hefty sums for using their own cars, many cars go underused.