SALT LAKE CITY – Salt Lake City is proposing a change to its current ordinance that allows certain employees to take home city-owned cars if they live no farther than 35 miles from the corporate city limits of Salt Lake City. Also, police officers are allowed, by ordinance, to use their cars on an unrestricted basis inside Salt Lake County. And, some employees have been assessed fees based on the distance they live from the city, according to a Salt Lake Tribune report. Today, 446 vehicles are taken home by city employees, 413 of them by police. According to Rocky J. Fluhart, chief administrative officer for Salt Lake City, the city’s policy change will “cut the enormous cost of the take-home car program to the taxpayers of Salt Lake City, provide greater equity among city employees, and encourage practices that will conserve fuel and cut down on pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.” The proposal would reduce the distance an employee can live from the city and still take home a city-owned vehicle to 25 miles from the City and County Building. This limitation would be phased in over five years for those who currently live from 25 to 35 miles from the city. It would also prohibit personal use of the vehicle, except for secondary employment if the employer reimburses the city, the report said. Representatives from the police and fire departments have been consulted about the proposed changes as the recommendations have been developed, according to Fluhart. All police take-home vehicles accumulate a total of 14,380 round-trip miles per day commuting to and from home. “Of the 413 police take-home cars, only 104 are driven by officers who live within the city limits,” Fluhart said. “Total take-home car expense for all employees is $736,162 per year. Of that total, $295,181 is reimbursed to the city by the employees. The remaining $440,981 is covered by city taxpayers through the general fund.”