RIVERSIDE, CA - Riverside County officials hope to save millions by trimming its large fleet of vehicles and curbing the number of employees permitted to drive home at night with county cars, according to the Press-Enterprise.

Supervisors will consider rules this fall to tighten oversight of county cars and to ensure the county does not purchase more vehicles than it needs. The county is already reducing take-home car use by implementing policy changes that supervisors approved July 14. The new rules restrict overnight car privileges to employees with jobs that routinely involve off-duty emergencies.

The changes follow a county audit last month that criticized the county's management for its roughly 5,300 cars and trucks. The audit report says the county owns about one vehicle for every four employees, and many cars are underutilized. The county employs about 20,000 people.

Riverside County's audit found that the county spends about $43.7 million each year on its fleet, including car payments, maintenance, and fuel. In addition, it found that about 1,055 county cars were authorized as take-home vehicles.

The policy change is expected to cut the number of take-home cars in half and save more than $2.2 million, reported the Enterprise.