Cleveland County Government

Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald cuts take-home cars

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason still drives a county car.

But county Executive Ed FitzGerald does not. And he has reduced the county's fleet of take-home cars by more than half, in an effort to save money.

Under the old county government, 23 employees outside the sheriff's office regularly drove county-owned vehicles. Now, according to a list requested by The Plain Dealer, only 11 have that privilege, including two prosecutor's investigators and three public defender's investigators.

"We don't like the perception that just because you happen to be in a high position in the county that you're entitled to a county vehicle," FitzGerald said. "That was a perk that can no longer be justified under most circumstances."

FitzGerald, who cut more than 10 percent of vehicles as the mayor of Lakewood, aims to keep better track of the county's more than 300 vehicles, to remove those that are not needed and save money on gas, insurance and maintenance.

He is still evaluating the 2009 Ford Focus driven by county Clerk of Courts Gerald Fuerst.

Take-home cars are passenger cars assigned to employees, who can use them for work and to drive home, but are not supposed to drive them for personal reasons. To justify the privilege, FitzGerald said, employees must need access to a vehicle 24/7.

FitzGerald has no authority over the prosecutor's office, which has not reduced its three cars.

"This office’s chief investigator and assistant chief investigator have county cars because it is cost effective and more efficient," said Mason's spokesman, Ryan Miday. "Before, during, and after work the investigators travel to locate victims, interview witnesses, interrogate suspects at corrections facilities around Ohio and deliver subpoenas in the five-county region."

About 25 cars will be auctioned off in October, said FitzGerald's spokesman, John Kohlstrand. Others will remain in a county pool, available for employees to check out for official business.

Eventually, FitzGerald said, he would like to install GPS devices, to track where and when county vehicles are driven.

Vehicle privileges have been under scrutiny since 2008, when then-county Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones relinquished his 2001 Ford Crown Victoria and the employee who chauffeured him about 10 hours a week. Afterward, he continued to get rides from the county a few times a month.

Cleveland County hits the big time news | Shelby Action News

Even though the news comes from December of 2010, it seems to be of interest even today. It’s a story about the corporation, Cleveland County Public Facilities Corporation, a non-profit started by the leadership of Cleveland County. And their board of directors is equally interesting. Here are the members , look on page six in link, and also listed below. The five County Commissioners, the County Manager and the County Finance Officer make up the Board of Directors with the Clerk to the Board serving as the Secretary. Do you think any of them would vote against one another on corporate decisions that they wouldn’t vote against in regular commissioner meetings? There’s a word for that. Red flag, I think it’s called.

I have done extensive research to see if the bond rating has been adjusted back up, but as of the moment, it has not. I also haven’t found anything in the local media that tells this story. If the stories are true, then this is a serious issue for the people of Cleveland County. The official CCNCGOV site confirms the fact, but doesn’t seem too concerned about the issue. Other sources claim that it’s a risky thing here. Either way, it’s not good to keep the folks in the dark. The people need to know, and the people have a right to know. The good, the bad, and the ugly, because when it comes down to it, they are the ones who are footing the bill for all this. I hope that someone in charge, if such a person exists, will speak out and explain this mess to the people. Silence nor ignoring the issue will solve anything. We’ve already seen that.

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