LAUREL, MT – The Laurel, Mont., City Council has unanimously voted 8-0 to postpone a resolution authorizing Mayor Ken Olson to execute a revised contract for Perry Asher, the administrative assistant to the mayor position. The major change in the contract would be language providing a city vehicle for Asher’s personal use, according to the Laurel Outlook newspaper.

Some city officials said that it is not good policy to issue a vehicle to employees just because there is a surplus vehicle available. Also under scrutiny is personal use of city vehicles by a handful of city employees. Some city officials believes it is a “misapplication of the public’s trust” to allow personal use of public assets. Others also say that the city may have liability exposure if a city vehicle was involved in an accident while being used by an employee for personal use, the report said.

To determine the value of personal use for tax purposes, the city multiplies the number of personal use miles used monthly, by 44.5 cents per mile, the allowable IRS mileage rate. Not all city employees assigned vehicles for their own use take advantage of that perk. City policy requires that they keep a log and report personal use mileage of city vehicles. That personal usage is reported to the IRS as a taxable fringe benefit.

In Asher’s case, he is available to respond 24/7 to any city emergency and has provided the mayor and council members with his home phone number and his cell phone number. Mayor Olson told the Outlook he was only continuing a policy allowing use of public vehicles by department heads that had been implemented by his predecessor, Mayor Bud Johnson.

The council may be asked to act on the resolution or an amended form of the resolution concerning Asher’s contract at its next regular meeting July 5.