FAS-015 - Vehicle Assignment Policy_2017(P-
SAINT J01IN
Title: Vehicle Assignment Policy
Subject: Vehicle Assignment
Category: Policy
Policy No.: FAS-015
M&C Report No.: 2017-012
Effective Date: 2017-01-23
Next Review Date: (3 years)2020-01-23
Area(s) this policy applies to: Staff
Office Responsible for review of this Policy:
Finance and Administrative Services
Related Instruments: Vehicle Assignment Policy
Policy Sponsors: Commissioner of Corporate Services,
Statement, Fleet Policy # 2017-012.01
and Commissioner of Finance and Administrative
Services
Document Pages: This document consists of 8 pages.
Revision History:
Common Clerk's Annotation for Official Record
Date of Passage of Current Policy: January 23rd, 2017
1 certify that this Policy was adopted by Common Council as indicated
a bove.
March 31, 2017
Common Clerk Date
Date Created:
Common Council Approval Date:
Contact:
2017-01-17
2017-01-23
Fleet Management
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. POLICY STATEMENT........................................................................................................................- 3-
2. -2. SCOPE...........................................................................................................................................- 3-
3.
-3. LEGISLATION AND STANDARDS.......................................................................................................... 3-
4.
-4. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES..........................................................................................................- 6-
5.
-5. MONITOR AND REVIEW................................................................................................................... 7-
6. IMPLEMENTATION........................................................................................................................... 7-
7. -7. AUTHORIZATION............................................................................................................................. 7-
8. -8. RESOURCES.................................................................................................................................... 7-
9. -9. PROCEDURES..................................................................................................................................7-
10. GLOSSARY...................................................................................................................................... 7-
11. INQUIRIES...................................................................................................................................... 8-
12. -12. APPENDICES................................................................................................................................... 8-
1. POLICY STATEMENT
The objectives of this Policy are:
1. To address the human resources management implications of vehicle assignment and
utilization.
2. To meet the transportation needs of Service Areas and staff.
3. To optimize the cost-effective deployment of the City's Fleet assets.
4. To promote shared utilization of the City's Fleet assets.
5. To drive accountability among all stakeholders.
The City of Saint John recognizes that transportation support is integral to the efficient and
effective delivery of municipal public services. The City operates and maintains a fleet of vehicles
and motorized equipment the use of which is dedicated to the direct delivery of municipal public
services as well as to the discharge of supporting administrative responsibilities of staff. The City
also recognizes that assignment of vehicles is only one aspect of an overall Fleet Management
Strategy, albeit a crucial one that involves primary human resources management implications.
This Policy sets forth the criteria by which assignment of vehicles is managed.
It is the policy of the City of Saint John that vehicles shall be deployed within the organization
according to a business model that optimizes cost-effective delivery of City Services through the
provision of vital transportation support to its staff. It is further the policy of the City of Saint John
that such assignment shall be grounded in business -unit and enterprise -wide service needs, as well
as in the employment responsibilities of staff. Job requirements shall determine assignment of
vehicles to individual members of staff. The City Manager shall make such determination based on
the operations -centred focus of the position, the need to respond after hours including emergency
response, and average annual usage.
2. SCOPE
This Policy encompasses assignment and utilization of "light fleet", i.e. passenger vehicles
unequipped with lighting packages and/or other specialized equipment designed for use in
operations.
Further, Council may from time to time assign a vehicle as an element of total compensation. Such
assignments, including to the Mayor and City Manager, are outside the scope of this Policy and
shall be administered in accordance with any and all arrangements in place with the incumbents.
Notwithstanding, the provisions of subsections 3F 3. and 4. of this Policy, "Conditions of
Assignment", shall apply in all cases.
3. LEGISLATION AND STANDARDS
This Policy supports and complements the City of Saint John Fleet Policy.
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A. ASSIGNMENT TO VEHICLE POOLS
1. Shared use of vehicles (i.e. pooling) shall be the primary vehicle assignment strategy
of the Fleet.
2. Similarly equipped vehicles for a common purpose shall be pooled.
3. The operational needs of Service Areas (Asset Assignees) shall be paramount in
shaping the Fleet, quantitatively and qualitatively.
4. Allocation of vehicles to Service Area and Central Fleet pools shall be reviewed on
an annual basis by Fleet Management on the strength of an annual Service Area
needs analysis and utilization report.
5. Rotation of vehicles within and across Service Area vehicle pools shall be effected,
where appropriate, in order to optimize the cost-effectiveness of the vehicle
assignment model at any point in time.
6. On-call rotation, as well as perpetual on-call assignments, shall be resourced from
vehicle pools, in accordance with the City of Saint John Fleet Policy, Section 4.
a) On -Call Rotation: Temporary assignments shall be made to members of staff
participating in on-call rotation schedules for the duration of a defined on-call
period.
b) Perpetual On -Call: Assignments may be made in cases where a single Position
provides a particular on-call service. It is understood that this remains a
temporary assignment, transferable to other members of staff as
circumstances allow, resulting in the initiation of an on-call rotation schedule.
B. ASSIGNMENT TO POSITION
1. Qualifying Positions: The following positions currently qualify for assignment of a
vehicle as set forth in this Policy:
a. Chief of Police (Saint John Police Commission)
b. Deputy Chief of Police (Saint John Police Commission)
c. Fire Chief
d. Deputy Fire Chief
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2. Purpose of the Assignment: Vehicle assignment shall be associated directly with
positions within the establishment and only indirectly with individual members of
staff. That is, although such assignments have remuneration implications including
taxable benefit for the employees concerned, service rather than compensation is
the purpose of the assignment.
C. ADDITIONAL SERVICE OPTIONS
1. Additional transportation options shall be explored should Service Area or Fleet
vehicle pools be insufficient to meet service demand at any point in time, including
but not limited to:
a. Rental
b. Leasing
c. Use of personal vehicles
2. Where use of personal vehicles is identified as the most cost-effective approach, the
City shall reimburse staff for use of personal vehicles (mileage only). The Province
of New Brunswick mileage rate (tier one) shall be adopted and shall be updated on
regular review of this Policy, at any other time directed by the City Manager, and in
any case, no later than March 31 of every year.
3. The option(s) chosen shall optimize cost-effective service delivery.
D. EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS
1. Employment contracts that provide an assigned vehicle or a vehicle allowance to
members of staff who would not otherwise qualify under this Policy for such
consideration, shall be reviewed to ensure equity for the incumbent and the most
cost-effective outcome for the City going forward.
2. Vehicle assignments and vehicle allowances shall not be provided with offers of
employment henceforth, with the exception of qualifying members of Senior Staff
as stipulated herein, i.e. Section 3.B.1.
E. MONITORING AND CONTROL
1. Fleet complement standards and guidelines tailored to service requirements shall be
developed by Fleet Management in collaboration with Senior Service Area
Management (Asset Assignees). These standards and guidelines shall factor into the
adjustment of vehicle assignment within and across Service Areas and the
consequent rebalancing, renewal or disposal of Fleet assets.
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2. All Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) reporting requirements shall be fulfilled. Assigned
vehicles, as well as any other vehicles taken home in the course of discharging on-
call rotation or perpetual on-call duties are subject to a Taxable Benefit.
3. All vehicle assignments to Positions shall be approved and reviewed annually by the
City Manager on the recommendation of the Senior Service Area Manager and Fleet
Management.
F. CONDITIONS OF ASSIGNMENT
1. Vehicles assigned within the scope of this Policy shall be used for business purposes
only, with the exception of allowable personal use.
2. Allowable personal use for on-call assignments, as well as perpetual on-call,
constitutes travel to and from the employee's home and regular place of
employment. All other personal use is prohibited.
3. The employee shall prepare and submit all required utilization records.
4. Vehicles shall be cared for by employees who use them (Asset Stewards), in
accordance with the City's Fleet Policy and applicable Service Level Agreements.
5. The Fleet Manager shall investigate instances of vehicle neglect or abuse and take
remedial action as appropriate, up to and including the recall of a vehicle to Central
Fleet.
4. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
A. Senior Staff: Senior Staff shall make recommendations with respect to vehicle assignment
to the City Manager based on the standards set forth herein.
B. Human Resources: Human Resources shall table this Policy with the City Manager for
review and approval; amend this Policy as directed by the City Manager, and coordinate
employee training and awareness.
C. City Manager: The City Manager shall annually review and approve all vehicle assignments
to Positions based on the criteria established in this Policy. The City Manager shall also
review and approve this Policy and any amendments that may arise from time to time, and
shall additionally review and approve Standard Operating Procedures developed in
support of this Policy.
WE
5. MONITOR AND REVIEW
This Policy will be reviewed every 3 years, and as determined by the City Manager.
E. IMPLEMENTATION
This Policy will be implemented under the authority of the City Manager by the Human
Resources Division of Corporate Services.
7. AUTHORIZATION
This Policy shall be authorized by the City Manager pursuant to a resolution of Common Council
approving the associated Policy Statement "Vehicle Assignment."
8. RESOURCES
N/A
9. PROCEDURES
Standard Operating Procedures will be developed within the context of this Policy, as required.
10. GLOSSARY
Allowable Personal Use: Driving an assigned vehicle to and from an incumbent's home and
regular place of employment.
Asset Assignee: The client who defines the service level requirement of the asset in terms of
their own operational needs to provide municipal services. The asset assignee is responsible for
the security and safeguarding of their assets.
Asset Manager: Oversees the strategic investments required to maintain existing assets,
acquire new assets, and dispose of surplus assets in response to the needs of the asset assignee
in meeting their operational service level requirements.
Asset Steward: Responsible for the maintenance and operation of existing assets within defined
service levels.
Assigned Vehicle: A vehicle which is driven home for business purposes and is assigned to a
Position for the exclusive use of the incumbent.
Business Use: Use of a vehicle for the delivery of municipal services, including operational and
administrative support services.
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Employee: For the purposes of this Policy, the Asset Steward.
On -Call Rotation: A vehicle assigned to a member of staff for a defined period of time for the
provision of after-hours service requirements. At the conclusion of the on-call period, the
assignment passes to the next employee in the duty rotation.
Perpetual On -Call: An on-call rotation involving only one member of staff.
Personal Use: Any use of a City Vehicle that is not business use.
Pooled Vehicle: A vehicle which is available for business use by Service Area staff during regular
business hours on a scheduled or ad-hoc basis. Pooled vehicles also supply on-call rotations and
perpetual on-call assignments.
Vehicle Allowance: A payment (typically monthly) to an employee in lieu of provision of an
assigned vehicle. Vehicle allowances are intended to provide an equivalent financial benefit to
the employee.
11. INQUIRIES
Inquiries regarding this Policy can be addressed to the City of Saint John's Human Resources
Division, Corporate Services.
12. APPENDICES
N/A
M