City vehicles in Warren get GPS units

By Ed Runyan

The police chief opposes the devices, questions the city’s motive for installing them.

WARREN — City officials have installed a few global positioning system devices in city vehicles and are planning to install about 20 additional ones in coming months.

Safety/Service Director Doug Franklin said the move is designed to improve safety of workers and reduce the costs associated with the city’s fleet of 200 vehicles.

The safety of an employee can be improved with a GPS system, Franklin said, by being able to locate the position of the vehicle when the employee cannot use other communications, such as when the city’s radio system goes down, Franklin said.

A second benefit is potential fuel savings. City officials can review the driving habits of workers to determine whether they are using vehicles efficiently, he said.

“It’s not the main component or motivation, but it is a side benefit,” Franklin said of fuel savings.

Last year, Warren’s fuel costs rose by 45 percent as a result of the spike in gasoline prices, Franklin said.

The cost of installing the first set of about 20 devices will be under $25,000, Franklin said, which meant it was not necessary for city council to approve the purchase.

The city expects the devices to pay for themselves in reduced fuel usage, but Franklin said he doesn’t know how long it will take to recoup the up-front costs.

Franklin admits that one reason for installing the devices is to stop employees from misusing city vehicles.

As a result, employees will not be told whether their vehicle has such a device on it, Franklin said.

“Knowing that component is out there will eliminate some misuse,” he said.

Ed Russ, president of Local 74 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents most city workers not in the police or fire departments, said he had no comment on the devices.

Police Chief John Mandopoulos, however, said he thinks the idea is a “terrible waste of money.”

With regard to police vehicles, he said, “I don’t think we could really make it more than two miles outside of the city without getting a call.”

Mandopoulos said he doesn’t know the motivation behind installing the devices, but he doubts it’s about worker safety.

“It has nothing to do with safety,” he said. “If they really cared about safety, they would put people back to work,” he said.

The city will employ two types of GPS systems: one that allows the city to identify the location of a vehicle at all times and one designed to be downloaded at various times so that usage can be reviewed later.

Franklin noted the devices are just one of many ways the city is trying to reduce costs in light of declining revenues.

According to FleetMatics, one company in the GPS business, the devices:

UImprove employee productivity by eliminating discrepancies between hours worked and hours claimed by employees.

ULower fuel costs by eliminating unapproved or any extended journeys.

UReduce private use of a vehicle by flagging movement of a vehicle outside working hours.

UImprove response times by deploying vehicles with greater speed and efficiency and accurately predict arrival times or delays.

UReduce phone bills by showing where vehicles are at all times instead of having to call employees to ask.

runyan@vindy.com