RUTLAND, VT - The Rutland Police Union has won the right to retain an automotive benefit the City tried to ban in November 2008, according to the Rutland Herald.

City detectives and school resource officers (SROs) can now continue drive to and from work in department vehicles, a practice which dates back to the late 1990s and reimburses detectives and SROs for commuting mileage and maintenance expenses, reported the Herald.

The practice was never officially adopted as a department policy, but had been introduced by former Chief Robert Holmes because the aldermen believed there were too many vehicles in the police lot, the Herald reported.

An independent arbitrator, Ira Jaffe, ordered the city to restore the practice and reimburse the affected officers for round-trip mileage from home to work dating back to Nov. 18, 2008, according to the Herald. His decision boiled down to the conclusion that the practice of allowing take-home vehicles had been in place so long and been altered so little that it constituted an implied enforceable agreement.

Officers' weekly commuting ranges between 20 miles for officers living in the city to 175 miles for officers living on the outskirts of the county, reported the Herald.

The automotive benefit reportedly costs the city roughly $10,000 a year in mileage alone, city officials said.