MANSFIELD, OHIO – Mansfield’s comparatively large fleet of City-owned vehicles creates a traffic jam of unanswered questions, according to http://www.centralohio.com.

Who has them? What is the annual cost to taxpayers? How is use of the vehicles regulated? Few clear answers emerged during a three-month study by the News Journal.

Mansfield allows 55 city employees, about 10 percent of its workforce, to drive to and from work in City-owned vehicles. The list of employees eligible for this service hadn’t been updated since 2005, until the News Journal asked for fresh information.

Todd Dilley, formerly the city’s sewer operations manager, and Carl “Mike” Dilley, formerly its maintenance supervisor, haven’t worked for Mansfield since 2006. They were among five former city supervisors sentenced to federal prison on public corruption charges.

No residency restrictions are placed on employees using city-owned vehicles. According to available data, of the 55 workers permitted to take vehicles home, 42 live in the city. Of the remaining 13, five live in Bellville, four in Lexington, two in Lucas, one in Shelby, and one in Ashland County.

Mayor Lydia Reid acknowledged no limits exist on how far an employee can commute with a city-owned car, however, she said it is something they should look into.

City officials don’t know what it costs to let workers drive vehicles home. They said costs and benefits have not been studied for years. Mansfield’s fleet of cars taken home is bigger than those of three Ohio cities of similar size, Springfield, Lima, and Hamilton.

The City Council said it’s up to the mayor or other elected officials with departments under their control to set policies governing who takes a city vehicle home.