GILLETTE, WY – Some 35 Gillette County employees will lose their privilege to take-home county vehicles.

The County Commission recently voted for a new fleet management guideline, changing a decades-old practice where assigned county vehicles could be used for personal means. The new policy, effective Aug. 1, is estimated to save local taxpayers $54,000 in gas costs alone, according to the Gillette News Record.

Last year, the county paid for 120,500 miles driven by county-owned vehicles to and from work. Commissioners began looking at the rising amount for county vehicles and began questioning how they were being used.

Fleet Manager Rod Warne was given the task to draft a new, unified guideline for the various county departments. Warne also surveyed all 35 county employees assigned take-home vehicles to get a better idea of the which jobs needed a county vehicle at home.  

After several months of workshops with the county commissioners and revisions to his policy, Warne and Public Works Director Kevin King presented the new policy to the commissioners. The policy now states: “As a general rule, regular take-home vehicle assignments are not allowed.”

The County Commission is leaving some room for exceptions, but employees must convince the board with a justifiable reason to take a car home. According to the fleet management guideline, any employees who live 20 minutes away from their job have little to no chance for eligibility.