Fixing The Fleet: County Scrambles For Repair Funds

The county is scrambling to financially prop up its embattled fleet department.

Commissioners on Tuesday slapped a huge Band-Aid on the problem by lending $350,000 from its general fund to help the department establish a reserve and get back to black - or at least as close as possible.

The board also flirted with the idea of asking one of its own to look seriously into privatizing efforts.

In the end, commissioners voted 5-0 to punt the matter to its newly formed budget and finance standing committee, whose first meeting is Tuesday, March 3.

But the question commissioners want to know is: How did the fleet department get to this point to begin with?

The answer, it seems, is a combination of mismanagement and fiscal oversight, according to County Administrator David Hamilton.

Much of the department's revenue comes from the money it takes in from charging other departments - including enterprise fund departments - to maintain and repair their vehicles.

For example, if fleet needs to replace an engine on a truck assigned to the airport, it sends the bill to the airport enterprise fund.

The same goes with other departments.

Budget Director George Zoettlein said fleet submits a bill after it repairs a vehicle. Fleet has already laid out the cash and must wait for reimbursement from the charged department.

"It just got to a point where the repair work they were billing out for and the cash coming in to pay for the bills (created) a cash flow problem," Zoettlein said.

However, County Commissioner David Russell said it appears the billings are either behind or were not properly submitted.

The turmoil in the department also apparently led to a breakdown in fiscal oversight.

To hold down costs and create greater efficiency, county commissioners last December transferred the fleet department from the auspices of the purchasing department and put it back where it used to be: under the department of public works.

They also approved new tracking measures for vehicles designed to address past accountability concerns.

In November 2007, commissioners shifted fleet operations to purchasing following the release of an audit citing problems with underused vehicles and employee accountability.

But even with all these moves, Public Works Director Charles Mixson said fleet has always operated "close to the line" with finances.

"I'm not happy up here (requesting) $350,000, but it's something we have to do," Mixson said.

Zoettlein said the fleet loan should not adversely affect the general fund reserve accounts, which currently total about $23 million.

"Unless we have a major hurricane that wiped out the entire county, we probably won't be spending $23 million," Zoettlein said.

The county would have put the $350,000 in the bank and gained interest anyway, he said. The only difference now is that the fleet department will pay it back with interest.

Most of the reserve money is used as balance forward cash to get the county through the first few months of the fiscal year, he said.