HD2 - Management and Use of State-Owned Passenger Vehicles


Executive Summary:
Section 2.1-196.1 of the Code of Virginia directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to monitor internal service funds. This JLARC staff review is our first comprehensive examination of the management of the State Central Garage Car Pool since it was designated as an internal service fund in 1984. In this study, we have examined the progress made in implementing the recommendations of our 1979 study of the Central Garage, and we have examined new issues brought about by the Central Garage's status as an internal service fund.

In the 1979 study we found that there was a need for improved management of the Central Garage and better utilization of the vehicles in the fleet. We found that many State employees used vehicles for commuting, but did not reimburse the State employees for that use. In response to that report, the Department of Transportation reorganized the Central Garage, established new utilization guidelines, and implemented commuting charges as mandated by the General Assembly.

In our recent review, we found that operation of the Central Garage has improved, and that many of the recommendations of the 1979 JLARC staff report have been implemented. However, we also found that some very important changes have not been made. Utilization of the vehicles, for example, has not improved since 1979. For 1987, we found that 31 percent of the fleet was under-utilized even though the required mileage was reduced from 18,000 miles in 1979 to 12,800 in 1987. We also found that most employees continue to commute without paying the required fee. In FY 1987 the State lost more than $341,000 because the commuting fee requirement is not uniformly enforced. Many of these continuing problems appear to result from confused authority and responsibility for setting and enforcing fleet policies and regulations. In this report, we recommend ways to clarify authority so that specific problems in fleet management can be addressed.