Scott County, Minn., has adopted Agile Access Control’s FleetCommander online motor pool management software for its fleet of 350 vehicles. The County’s Troy Beam said this software will help reduce the costs associated with mileage reimbursement for business use of personal vehicles by County employees. Beam noted that the County currently spends more than $350,000 per year on mileage reimbursement. He noted that reimbursement costs have gone as fuel prices have increased.

"Going to an all-online vehicle reservation process will require drivers to check for the availability of a fleet vehicle first,” Beam said. “If there is not a vehicle available, drivers will be allowed to use their own vehicle. This will enable the county to cut way back on POV mileage reimbursement."

In addition to online reservations, the County is installing automated key control systems in three locations, which involves a secure metal cabinet that vehicle keys are locked in. Users can log in to the kiosk next to the keybox to check out their reserved vehicle’s key.

“It has been difficult to keep track of keys without hiring additional personnel,” Beam said. “The FleetCommander system will do that for us, and we don't need to bring in more people.”

In addition to using FleetCommander, the County is a member of a group of government organizations called “Scott County Association for Leadership and Efficiency” (SCALE), which includes cities, schools, fire departments, and other agencies in the region. These organizations manage more than 2,500 vehicles, according to Agile. Scott County’s Beam said the long-term goal for the group is to use FleetCommander to enable cross-agency sharing of vehicles and other fleet assets.

"If an agency needs a bobcat, for instance, they can log in to FleetCommander and see that another organization has one they can use,” Beam said. “They can check it out through the online reservation system and not have to buy it. The savings potential for the County is huge.”