COUNTY VEHICLES Officials: Clarify criteria for travel

Employees would need to determine which of three options is the cheapest.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A Trumbull County commissioner, whose use of a county credit card to pay for a car wash and interior cleaning on a county vehicle raised questions about proper procedures, says a letter will soon go out clarifying travel expenses.
Commissioner Daniel Polivka recently turned in a $30 bill for the car cleaning, which prompted County Auditor David Hines to question whether the commissioner had followed proper procedures.
Hines said Tuesday the problem wasn't whether Polivka was allowed to have the car washed, but whether he should have gotten a purchase order before having the work done. Hines also said he was surprised Polivka was using a county credit card. He thought officials had stopped doing that years ago.
Although Polivka was unhappy that Hines found fault with his car wash, he seems to agree with Hines' desire to see people use purchase orders.
Polivka wrote a letter to county officials outlining criteria for using either personal vehicles, county vehicles or Hertz rental cars, and he said Commissioner Paul Heltzel "seemed to think it was OK."
Heltzel said he is in agreement with tightening the requirements for travel but said some changes need to be made in the letter. This is because the commissioners don't have the authority to set policy for employees not under their direct control, such as in offices of other elected officials.
Polivka said the policy would call for the employee to analyze travel to determine which three options would be the least expensive in light of high gas prices. Part of the policy is also a "freeze" on travel by county employees without prior permission, Polivka said.
The commissioner said the letter, which will be from the board of commissioners as a group, is not in response to his use of the county car but rather a reaction to high gas prices and is an extension of a letter sent to county officials and employees six months ago.
"We tried to send out a nice letter first, and this is a follow-up," Polivka said.
Heltzel said courts can "do what they want" with regard to travel because they don't answer directly to the commissioners. Some county employees use county vehicles on a daily basis and won't need prior permission either, he said. The policy pertains more to those who make "discretionary" trips, he said.
With regard to the car wash, Polivka said he is paying off the county credit card bill but still expects to be reimbursed "out of principle."
With regard to his use of a county car, Polivka is putting together a form he believes county officials and employees should use, indicating odometer readings when the car is taken from the county pool and when it is returned.
runyan@vindy.com