CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO – The Cape Girardeau County Commission was approached by Enterprise Rent-A-Car with a proposal to help cut traveling costs for county officials by renting cars, according to the Southeast Missourian.

Mark Block, corporate account manager who presented on behalf of Enterprise, said an agreement with his company would save the county money on mileage reimbursement costs in light of rising fuel prices. The proposal would allow county officials to rent vehicles from Enterprise at reduced rates already offered to the Missouri state government without having to go through a rebid process.

Cape Girardeau County currently allows its officials to use county-owned vehicles to travel or to be reimbursed for mileage in their personal vehicles. The rental car option would be in addition to those options.

Vehicles from Enterprise are rented over a 24-hour period. A county official could leave for St. Louis in the afternoon and return in the middle of the day the following day and still only pay the rate for one day.

County officials could also take advantage of an agreement with Enterprise if they were to fly to a meeting out-of-state and rent a vehicle there. Bryant said officials could fly to Chicago and rent a car from Enterprise at the lowest available Internet rate with an additional five-percent discount, according to the Southeast Missourian.

In the presentation, Block said he was flexible about the commitment the county would have to make to Enterprise. He said he could negotiate a low-volume one-year trial period of a $3,000 annual commitment.

Perry and Scott counties already have agreements with Enterprise Rent-A-Car, along with the City of Cape Girardeau. Negotiations are underway to reach a similar agreement with St. Louis County.

The agreement between Enterprise and the city that went into effect Oct. 2, 2007, and ends Oct. 2, states that Enterprise may terminate the agreement if the city does not do at least $1,500 worth of business per calendar quarter.