ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTIVE (AD) #AD FM-02

Transcription

1 HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY Office of the County Administrator ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTIVE (AD) #AD FM-02 SUBJECT: VEHICLE POLICY: PERSONAL USE, 24-HOUR T A KE H O ME VEHICLES, 24- H O U R DESIGNATED PARKED AND 24-HOUR REMOTELY PARKED EFFECTIVE DATE: September 1, 2015 REVIEW DATE: September 1, 2020 SUPERSEDES: AD FM-02 dated November 4, 2013 Authority: Article II, Section 6(o), of the Hillsborough County Administrative Code (Ordinance 85-35), as amended, empowers the County Administrator to issue and enforce such administrative orders, rules or guidelines as necessary to give appropriate effect to the Charter, Administrative Code, and ordinances of the County; and maintain a complete compilation of all such administrative orders, rules, and regulations. Purpose: To establish County vehicles procedures in support of Personal Use, 24-hour Take Home Vehicle Assignment, 24-hour Designated Parked and 24-hour Remote Parked. Directive: All d e p a rtments and agencies utilizing the County Administrator s Fleet Management Department will use County vehicles for official business use only and in compliance with this Administrative Directive (AD). Personal use of County Vehicles is not authorized except as allowed under De Minimis (minimal use) Benefits outlined in Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Publication 15-B (Employer s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits) and this AD. Departments are responsible for reviewing IRS 15-B guidelines annually (2015 version is at for t h e m o s t c u r r e n t i n f o r m a t i o n o n D e M i n i m i s b e n e f i t s a n d qualified non-personal use vehicles. Fleet Management is available to assist departments in determining applicable policies. County employees assigned or using a County vehicle for County business will pick up and return the vehicle to their assigned work location daily. Ex ceptions t o thi s pol i cy are authoriz ed in s upport of 2 4-hour vehicle assignments and employees approved for 24- hour designated parked or 24-hour remotely parked by their Department Director. 1

2 Page 2 Directors must coordinate requests to park their department vehicles at another department s parking lot with the applicable department director. Department directors receiving parking requests from other departments will attempt to support those requests based on the capacity of the parking lot and their own mission requirements. This directive does not apply to vehicles used for temporary employment assignments outside of Hillsborough County (see AD-09 for outside the County travel). Definitions: 24-HOUR TAKE HOME: a requirement for an employee to take a County vehicle home in order to immediately respond to emergencies. The employee s nature of work requires a County emergency or special purpose/specialty vehicle (see qualified non-personal use vehicle definition) where a privately owned vehicle (POV) cannot be reasonably expected to be used. This a u t h o r i t y is intended solely to enhance County services and operational effectiveness. Department Directors will authorize and monitor department 24-hour take home vehicle assignments. Deputy and Assistant County Administrators will authorize 24-hour take home vehicles assigned to their Department Directors. 24-HOUR DESIGNATED PARKED: a requirement for an employee to park a County vehicle after normal duty hours at a designated County facility other than the employees normal work location in order to facilitate response time to after-hours service calls or urgent situations within 30 minutes of employee notification. The employee s nature of work requires a County emergency or special purpose/specialty vehicle (see qualified non-personal use vehicle definition) where a POV cannot be reasonably expected to be used. This requirement is intended solely to enhance County services and operational effectiveness. Department Directors will authorize, monitor, and designate parking locations for employees who require 24-hour designated parking. Deputy and Assistant County Administrators will authorize designated parking for applicable Department Directors. Directors will coordinate requests to use parking locations not assigned to their department with the applicable department director. 24-HOUR REMOTELY PARKED: a requirement for an employee to park a County vehicle at a designated County facility for those employees, who operate substantially out of their vehicles and who do not have a standard office space assigned (and therefore no assigned parking location). Employees will park their County vehicle at the County location that is closest to where the employee s workday typically ends. For example, if an employee typically works in Northwest Hillsborough County, the employee must park in the nearest County location to where his or her business ends in Northwest Hillsborough County, regardless of the location of his or her personal residence. Vehicles will not be used to transport employees in close proximity to their residences for the purpose of reducing employee personal transportation expenses (personal use). Department directors will authorize, monitor and designate department parking and work locations for employees who require 24-hour remote parking. Deputy and Assistant County Administrators will authorize remote parking for applicable Department Directors. Directors will coordinate requests to use parking locations not assigned to their department with the applicable department director. 2

3 Page 3 COMMUTING: driving from the employee s residence to the employee s first official duty station of the day, and driving from the last official duty station of the day to the employee s residence. Any commuting by the employee using a non-qualified, n on-personal use vehicle (see IRS Publication 15-B for full definition) is subject to personal use tax reporting. DE MINIMIS (MINIMAL USE) BENEFITS: any property or service provided to an employee that has so little value that accounting for it would be unreasonable or administratively impracticable. For example, use of a County vehicle during authorized meal periods by an authorized driver as long as the dining facility does not deviate from the drivers scheduled route. EMERGENCY TAKE HOME: vehicles designated as 24-hour take home vehicles during emergencies, contingencies, significant weather events, national security events, other emergency or unusual operational requirements in support of official County business. Department directors can authorize take home permissions for up to five calendar days, the County Administrator can authorize take home permissions for up to 10 calendar days (or until termination of a declared emergency). FIRST/LAST OFFICIAL DUTY STATION: the employee s first/last work site of the workday. For employees with approved 24-hour take home vehicle assignment, the first official duty location is their assigned County vehicle. The employee s official workday begins when he or she enters the County vehicle to begin work for the day and ends when the employee exits the County vehicle at the approved parking location at the end of the workday. PERSONAL USE POLICY: personal use of a County vehicle other than De Minimis (minimal use) benefits is prohibited and subject to disciplinary action. QUALIFIED NON-PERSONAL USE VEHICLES: a s d e f i n e d i n IRS Publication 15-B is any vehicle the employee is not likely to use more than minimally for personal purposes because of its design and therefore is not considered a fringe benefit for inclusion in employees wages. Qualified non-personal use vehicles include: 1. Clearly marked fire and public safety vehicles. 2. Any vehicle designed to carry cargo with a loaded gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) over 14,000 pounds. 3. Specially modified p i c k u p t rucks with a loaded GVWR of 14,000 pounds or less that are not likely to be used more than minimally for personal purposes. For example, a pickup truck with permanently affixed business labels meeting either of the following requirements: a. E q u i p p e d w i t h a hydraulic lift gate, permanent tanks or drums, permanent side boards or panels that materially raise the level of the sides of the truck bed, other heavy equipment (such as electric generator, welder, boom, or crane). 3

4 Page 4 b. U s e d p r i marily to transport a particular type of load (other than over the public highways) in a construction, manufacturing, processing, or other similar operation for which it was specially designed or significantly modified. 4. Specially modified vans with a loaded GVWR of 14,000 pounds or less that are not likely to be used more than minimally for personal purposes. For example, a van equipped with a driver s seat only (or driver and one other person), permanent shelving that fills most of the cargo area. Vans with an open cargo area that always carries material and/or equipment used for business or function. Eligibility to Drive on County Business: Only those employees who meet the County s Risk Management eligibility criteria are authorized to drive a County vehicle. The minimum criteria are: 1. Possess a valid Florida Driver s License or Commercial Driver s License (CDL). 2. No more than seven points charged to their driving record during the two years immediately preceding the current date. 3. Complete a Driving Eligibility Criteria Acknowledgement Form (posted on the Risk Management COIN site). 4. Successfully complete the County approved Defensive Driving Course or Emergency Vehicle Operators Course (EVOC). Contact Risk Management for access to the on-line defensive driving course. 5. Comply with the instructions in this AD. A. Department Directors: Responsibility: 1. Will determine and approve 24-hour take home County vehicle assignments (see attachment A, authorization link) when necessary to support emergency Department mission requirements. Minimal justification includes the requirement to immediately respond to emergencies with a County emergency or special purpose/specialty vehicle (see qualified non-personal use vehicle definition) where a POV cannot be reasonably expected to be used. This a u t h o r i t y is intended solely to enhance County services and operational effectiveness and should be kept to a minimum. 2. Will determine and approve 24-hour designated parked County vehicle assignments (can use attachment A, authorization link or a department tracking method) when necessary to support urgent Department mission requirements. Minimal justification includes the requirement to reduce response time to urgent situations (within 30 minutes of employee notification) with a County emergency or special purpose/specialty vehicle (see qualified non- 4

5 Page 5 personal use vehicle definition) where a POV cannot be reasonably expected to be used. Response time is reduced by using a designated County facility other than the employees normal work location after normal duty hours. This requirement is intended solely to enhance County services and operational effectiveness and should be kept to a minimum. Directors will coordinate requests to use parking locations not assigned to their department with the applicable department director. 3. Will determine and approve 24-hour remotely parked County vehicle assignments (can use attachment A, authorization link or a department tracking method) when necessary to support Department mission requirements. Minimal justification includes the requirement to park a County vehicle at a designated County facility for those employees, who operate substantially out of their vehicles and who do not have a standard office space assigned (and therefore no assigned parking location). This requirement is intended solely to enhance County services and operational effectiveness. Directors will coordinate requests to use parking locations not assigned to their department with the applicable department director. 4. Will annually (by September 30) review and approve department: a) 24-hour take home vehicle assignments using attachment A, authorization link, b) 24-hour designated parked using attachment A, authorization link or any department tracking method, and c) 24- hour remotely parked vehicles using attachment A, authorization link or any department tracking method. The review will consider department information regarding callbacks, emergencies, after-hour events, in order to perform a cost-benefit analysis, for both salaried and hourly employees. New requests during the calendar year will be processed as the new requirement is identified. 5. Coordinate with County Finance when an approval is granted for 24-hour take home vehicles that do not fit the Qualified Non-personal Use vehicle definition (per IRS Publication 15- B). In these cases, the department will need to properly account for commuting tax-reporting clauses. As of tax year 2015, the commuting benefit rule is $1.50 for each one-way commute. 6. Be prepared to support other department director s requests to park County vehicles at their facilities. The attached application (Attachment B) has a County Designated and Remote Parking Lot Locations Survey Form that can be used by Departments to highlight available parking spaces for use by other Departments for designated and remote parking. B. County Employees Requesting: 24-Hour Take Home Vehicle Assignment, 24-Hour Designated Parked, or 24-Hour Remotely Parked Approvals 1. Must be eligible to drive County vehicles (reference the County s Risk Management Manual and this Directive). Recipients will self-identify themselves to their Department Director through their manager if they fail to maintain eligibility, which would lead to removal of their County vehicle assignment. 5

6 Page 6 2. If assigned a County vehicle they will notify their Department Director through their manager if they are scheduled to be absent from work for an extended period (more than 10 working days simultaneously). The vehicle may be temporarily reassigned internally or returned to Fleet Management for maintenance and/or Fleet temporary reassignment. 3. Will only allow County vehicles to be operated by County employees. Non-County employees are only authorized to ride in a County vehicle when supporting official County business. 4. Employees assigned a County vehicle are not eligible for an automobile allowance. 5. Will record commuting information when assigned a County vehicle that is not classified as a Qualified Non-personal use Vehicle. The employee will need this information when preparing their annual personal tax returns (for vehicle personal use fringe benefit reporting). 6. Will annually (by September 30) submit their request for a County take home vehicle via the attachment A, authorization link: Requests for a 24-hour designated parked or 24-hour remote parked designation will be followed per the respective Department Director s guidance which may include using the attachment A, authorization link or a suitable department tracking log. 7. Notify their Department Director through their manager when a change to their work status affects their 24-hour take home, 24-hour designated parked, or 24-hour remote parked designation. Procedures: Departments will work with County Finance and report to payroll an employee s approved assignment of a 24-hour take home vehicle that is not considered a Qualified Non-personal use Vehicle, as this is considered a taxable fringe benefit. See Title 26, US Code, Section 61 (income definition), 26 CFR (taxation of fringe benefits), and IRS P u b l i c a t i o n 15- B, Employer s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits, Commuting Rule. Any questions regarding this payment should be referred to the County Attorney s Office. County Support Forms: The 24-Hour Take Home, 24-Hour Remote, and 24-Hour Designated Parked Authorization Application replaces the forms previously used. This application will be used for 24-hour Take Home vehicle requests, and may be used by Department Directors to track requests for 24-Hour Remote, and 24-Hour Designated Parked requests. 6

7 Page 7 There is a user s guide on the opening page of the application. Your regular County network username and password will give you access to the application. Only County employees that meet the prerequisites of the Administrative Directive should submit an application. The application link is at: ) Responsibility: Fleet Management is the office of primary responsibility for this Administrative Directive. Approved by: Date: August 31, 2015 County Administrator 7