PLANO, TX – Fewer city employees in Plano, Texas, will receive car allowances to operate personal vehicles for official business as the city tries to reduce costs, reported The Dallas Morning News newspaper. Currently, 130 employees receive a car allowance, totaling more than $600,000 a year. Studies of surrounding municipalities showed wide variation in the recipients of car allowances versus use of city-owned vehicles on an as-needed basis. Reducing the number of car allowances means that the city must buy, maintain, and insure its own vehicles. Additional parking is also needed for employees´ personal cars and the city fleet. A benefit to issuing vehicles is that the city can control the type of vehicle and what logos are visible. Identifiable vehicles are often a comfort to residents who want to know who is driving through their neighborhoods. The Morning News reported that it costs an average of $480 a month to maintain a midsize vehicle in the fleet, according to Plano calculations. This includes fuel and depreciation costs.