UTICA, NY - The Oneida County Board of Legislators created a special committee last month to review the process the County uses to assign take-home vehicles. The issue recently entered the spotlight when a county-issued car became a focal point in the county clerk's race, where one candidate stated that certain take-home vehicles were an unnecessary expense, according to The Observer-Dispatch.

In total, the county owns 210 automobiles, about 48 of which are driven home by County employees. About half of the take-home vehicles are assigned to law enforcement.

The County executive has the final approval for most department heads requesting cars. Those department heads are asked to demonstrate that a take-home car is needed, and vehicles are then tracked through mileage, gas, and employee timesheets in an effort to ensure they're only used for county-related business.

Take-home vehicles used by four elected officials have reduced to one.

The county committee is due to report their recommendations by March 2011, according to the newspaper.