VICTORVILLE, CA - The City of Victorville is returning 43 leased vehicles as a cost-saving measure, according to The Daily Press.

The move will save $250,00 a year, city spokeswoman Yvonne Hester said, for a total savings of $750,000 over the next three years.

The vehicles were all leased from Sunland Ford Lincoln Mercury for five years starting April 1, 2008, in effort to replace aging, less fuel-efficient models with newer ones, reported the Press.

But City Manager Jim Cox expressed concern over the number of vehicles in the city's fleet when he first took the helm last February. Cox also put a stop to some employees receiving stipends for their own vehicles even though some of them drove company cars while on the job, and he called for less frequent oil changes to curb maintenance costs, the Press reported.