Josh Kowalkowski, The Examiner
2008-07-31 14:09:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

Howard County -

Many of the 119 employees set to lose their Howard County-issued vehicles are emergency and pubic safety responders, but department leaders said they’ll strive to continue meeting all resident needs.

“It’s an unfortunate situation but also understandable why they’re being taken away,” said Jim Irvin, director of the Department of Public Works, whose 44 employees expected to lose the vehicles by September are generally those who need to respond to situations and emergencies after-hours less than three times a week.

“It’s certainly disappointing ... but we have to be prudent in what we’re doing,” said Howard Fire Chief Joe Herr.

County Executive Ken Ulman said his decision this week to reduce the number of take-home vehicles from 207 to 88 was not easy and was prompted by making the operation of government more efficient.

“We had some tough conversations with department heads who were defending their employees, but I tried to approach it from both a management and taxpayer basis,” he said, referring to the anticipated savings of about $700,000.

A big part of these discussions was with leaders of the police, fire and public works departments, as well as the sheriff’s office, which are the major emergency and public safety responders in the county.

In the police department, two civilian employees, including spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn who drove 9,404 miles in 2007, also are expected to lose their county-issued cars.

The police department Wednesday announced plans to:

» Discontinue issuing take-home cars for some out-of-county personnel on on-call assignments

» Place restrictions on vehicles used by supervisors.

During the next two weeks, county department heads can appeal to Chief Administrative Officer Lonnie Robbins who will determine any oversights in the decision.

“We’re not going to reduce our service to the public,” said Robbins.

“That’s why we’re having this appeals process to ensure we’re being fair and equitable. We’ll be open to anything they have to say.”

NEED A LIFT?

Employees at these departments and offices in Howard will lose their take-home, county-issued vehicles by September:

• Public Works: 44
• Sheriff’s Office: 29
• Fire and Rescue Services: 25
• Recreation and Parks: 12
• Administrative supervisors: 3
• Technology and Communication Services: 3
• Corrections, Planning and Zoning and Public Works: 3 deputy directors
• Police Department: 2 civilians

Source: Howard County Office of Public Information

jkowalkowski@baltimoreexaminer.com