Saving energy and money will be key to the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners in the upcoming months. At their quarterly retreat Friday, commissioners discussed how these savings would relate to reformed policies on county vehicle use, the possibility of a four-day workweek and improved fire rescue service.
CLEARER LOOK AT CARS
The county has reworked its policy for employees who use county vehicles so that differences between county business and personal use are more clear, said Betty Baker, the administrative services director.
The policy has been a topic of discussion since July, when the county faced a lawsuit in relation to a 2006 accident in which spokesman Mark Sexton hit a pedestrian in Miami with his county car.
The county cars have also experienced some environmentally friendly changes.
In addition to the county's 34 hybrid cars, heavier trucks are now running on a percentage of less expensive biodiesel fuel to reduce costs, said Ray Griffin, the county fleet manager.
"We're keeping the biodiesel percentage up as much as we can," Griffin said.
NEW WORKWEEK
Following in the footsteps of Gainesville's new workweek consisting of four 10-hour days, the county could soon implement a similar program to reduce energy use.
Baker said a county survey showed that four-day workweeks might also increase employee morale.
Commissioner Cynthia Moore Chestnut said she would be interested in seeing if county buildings could shut down for a two-week December vacation as well. Chestnut also questioned how often county services are used on Fridays.
"I think that a lot of people are accustomed to doing their business Monday through Thursday," she said.
Donna Murray, the senior human resources analyst, said at the moment, the four-day workweek could not be mandated practically, but it should be an option.
CONTRACT ON SAFETY
One way to reduce expenses could be a merger between Alachua County Fire Rescue and the fire services of surrounding counties. The merger could result in faster response times for the county's smaller, outlying cities and towns, Fire Chief Ed Bailey said.
The county is also negotiating with the Municipality Fire Authority, a cooperative fire service formed by the smaller cities in Alachua County. The authority has asked to be reimbursed for fire response that should be covered by the county's fire rescue.
Though the county has individual contracts with smaller fire services, Commissioner Paula DeLaney said an exclusive agreement with the authority might waste the county's budget on services that are already provided by other groups.
Commission Chairman Rodney Long said the county is in need of the authority's service, and the budget should be reworked to pay for it.
"When you ask someone to provide a service, it costs what it costs," Long said.
