ROCKVILLE, MD - A review of the vehicle management practices of Montgomery County's light vehicle fleet recommended that Fleet Management Services (FMS) improve utilization to "avoid significant new investment in fleet assets." Fifty-one percent of the non-public safety vehicles in the fleet, which consists of 668 units, are up for normal replacement by June 2012. It suggested FMS consider utilizing a Vehicle Allocation Methodology, such as the one used by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). The review excludes public safety vehicles.

The review from the Montgomery County Office of Inspector General identified 215 vehicles were underutilized (driven less than 5,000 miles) in FY-2011. The review stated that there may be an excess of up to 88 vehicles that could be sold and not replaced, saving the County $1.4M in future replacement costs and also possibly generate income through sales.

A response to the review from the County chief administrative officer stated that FMS has been working on reallocating underutilized vehicles, but has been paying immediate attention to managing the take-home fleet. It further stated that FMS's procedures regarding vehicle replacement are carefully planned.

According to the review, fleet had already reduced the light-vehicle fleet by 5 percent from FY-2010 to FY-2011, achieving a savings of $522,000 without affecting services.

A second point addressed in the review was compliance with employees' driver's licenses and driving records. The response from the chief administrative officer stated FMS would work to improve driver record and licensing record keeping processes.

The Office of Inspector General agreed with the County's responses.

The review stated FMS has a staff of more than 200 employees and manages more than 2,200 automobiles, 666 pieces of heavy equipment, and 390 buses. FMS manages four main repair facilities as well as several satellite depots.

Click here for a PDF of the full review with responses.