Agenda - Council - 02/11/1992 - Laserfiche WebLink

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February 4~ ig~Z Hemorandum regarding use of city vehicles for personal purposes. To: City Council City Administrator Regarding the memorandum published January 29, 1992 concerning the use of city vehicles I am experiencing some difficulty reconciling the strict reading of this uith hou expect my officers to carry on their normal work shift and receive their contractual (and quite human) break periods. Ail now reads, it states "City vehicles are not ...to be used to during lunch OR FOR ANY OTHER PERSONAL USES." This means that an officer can not operate the squad to transport himself to a restaurant in order to take his lunch break much less go to his home; for what is the difference between driving to a house or a restaurant if the purpose is to take a personal lunch or coffee break? We would be faced %;ith an officer, who well may be the only officer working, driving the squad to the City Hall parking lot and taking his own vehicle to a restaurant or his home to eat, leaving nobody answering the public service function for a minimum of thirty minutes and repeating that again on break periods. I doubt that even th~ IRS %;ould consider a truck driver ~{ho stops his rig at a restaura;]t off the highway in order to eat as receiving a "perk" that is taxable! Currently we hav~ tuo officers (besides myself) living directly in the city and two that live within two blocks fro~] the Ramsey/Burns line. It is closer for the latter two to stop at home than to drive into Anoka to the closest restaurant. I don't expect the officer to feel either %{ell nourished or comfortabJe having to go consistently to either a deli counter or a bar f~)r lunch.' This is in reference to the fact that we only have grocery store deli and Rum River Hills for establishments that serve food. As for the first two officers 1%{ould rather hav,~ them at either home or Bob's Country Inn taking their breaks thun doun in the basement kitchen at City Hall since it is quite likely they %.~ould be unable to hear the radio efficiently the]?e. The balance of the department's officers do not go home since they live too far away to realistically do so (although Offic,:~ Singewald only lives about three blocks or less into Anoka off h~ghway #1~). The point I am making here is that the use of the sq%~ad for breaks and lunch is not a perk or other form of bonus or treatment for an officer. Largely, that officer's office is squad car and he spends the greater part of his day in Jr. fact that he takes it to his house or a restaurant does ~]ot the city anything above and beyond the normal shift cost nor the officer gain by it. This is especially so when you that the officer is subject to, and in fact often must, lear,. supper or break to respond to a call. I am not a~;are of any other city employees having to do this. I I i I I I I I I