30.40. - Return of vehicles at day's end.
Every officer and employee driving or operating any such vehicle under the jurisdiction of the city council shall at the close of each day's work return said vehicle to the place from which it was obtained, or such other place as may be designated by the department head or by the city engineer, and shall not use it again until reporting for duty, except as otherwise provided in subsections (a) through (g) hereof.
(a) When it appears that it is for the best interest of the city that an officer or employee be permitted to regularly use or retain possession of a city-owned or city-leased vehicle during periods other than regular hours of duty, the head of the department desiring such permission shall file a written request therefor with the city coordinator stating the reason for such use of the vehicle and the name and position of the officer or employee for whom such permission is requested. The city coordinator shall submit all such requests to the city council and forward a copy thereof to the city engineer. The city council may grant the permission requested with whatever limitation it deems advisable and may designate the place the vehicle is to be kept when not in use on business of the city and the period during which such permission shall continue. In no event shall such permission continue beyond the thirty-first day of December of the year in which granted.
(b) City employees shall be authorized overnight and weekend use of city-owned or city-leased vehicles on an irregular basis at the discretion of the department head responsible for the vehicle, when in the department head's opinion it is in the city's best interest. Such authorization shall as far as practical be made in advance and shall not be made for more than twenty-four (24) hours at a time, except when the employee is assigned to a rotating emergency call back status for a specific period in excess of twenty-four (24) hours but not continually. Use of the vehicle during that period shall be for official city business only.
(c) Certain officers and employees of the city shall be allowed to take home city vehicles on a continual basis. The city coordinator shall recommend to the city council those individuals, and the city council shall approve or disapprove those recommendations. In evaluating requests for this privilege, the city coordinator shall consider the following factors:
(1) Whether the employee is subject to emergency call back on a continuing basis and whether the distance the employee lives from the city would allow emergency response on a timely basis.
(2) Whether practical arrangements can be made to keep the vehicle within city limits but still reasonably available to the employee if not a city resident.
(3) Whether the vehicle to be taken home by the employee is equipped in such a manner that performance of the employee's duties in his or her own vehicle would be impractical.
(4) Whether the employee has a past history of misuse of city vehicles.
(5) Whether other conditions exist, not based on usage, which make it in the city's best interest to allow take-home privileges, such as compensation considerations, agreements made when the employee was hired.
(6) Whether the employee can demonstrate need based on numbers of meetings attended, miles driven, or related factors.
(d) City employees may take city vehicles outside the metropolitan area for official city business in situations in which the department head making such authorization feels that such action is the most practical or economical manner for the employee to accomplish the intended purpose of the trip.
(e) Persons permanently or occasionally assigned to take home vehicles shall be responsible for the security of the vehicle when it is at the person's residence.
(f) Persons permanently assigned take-home vehicles shall as far as practical make the vehicle available to other department personnel when needed.
(g) Under no circumstances shall city vehicles be used by nonlicensed drivers nor shall they be driven by noncity employees, unless particular arrangements have been approved by the city, such as in the case of the City of Lakes Advanced Driver Training Program.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to any motor vehicle allotted to or designated for the use of the mayor. (Code 1960, As Amend., § 478.030; 81-Or-173, § 1, 6-26-81; Pet. No. 249854, § 88, 7-14-89)
