There are 22 MCPS employees currently receiving a car allowance. The amount budgeted for car allowances in FY 2012 is $171,600. The amount budgeted in FY 2012 for both local travel and mileage reimbursement is $1,944,306. The mileage reimbursement rate effective January 2011 as issued by the Internal Revenue Service is $.51 per mile.
22 MCPS employees get car allowances? Who are those 22 employees? $171,600 divided by 22 averages out to $7,800 per employee! That's a pretty nice perk.
Do you have evidence that these car allowances are in fact "perks"/excess compensation for the recipients?
On the other hand, there are likely to be MCPS positions that easily would require going to multiple MCPS locations every day and might even require the 60+ miles per day of driving implied by the car allowance. I imagine in some of the operationally-focused parts of the system (facilities, for example). Even some teachers might travel to multiple schools during the day.
How else are these employees going to get around the county? Should the wear & tear & gas be theirs to cover? Should they take the bus? MCPS could buy, garage and maintain the cars I suppose but that might in fact be more expensive and more prone to abuse and turning into an unwarranted "perk" (taking the car home).
So the right question is your first one: who is getting the car allowances - and the mileage reimbursements?
I also wonder about the numbers - if there are another $1.8 million of reimbursements for driving around the county, that implies 3.6 million miles of driving, or at least 450 employees driving 40 miles a day every day for 200 working days a year. Which seems terribly high. I would say "improbable" but this is MCPS, right? Perhaps other travel expenses are covered in that budget line...
If MCPS big-wigs are getting "company cars" that's a real problem. If the a couple dozen employees are spending 2 hours a day in the car traveling site to site, that's a different issue. If there are 500 employees driving around for more than an hour a day, that's a fiasco, but at least they probably have MCPS-paid cell service to do some work, even if they can't legally talk on the phone while they're driving :)
I filled out the "budget question" form so I'll see what I get back and share with you.
Gary - A car allowance is different from getting mileage. A car allowance is a monthly payment for a car. For example, Superintendent Weast gets a monthly car allowance of $750 a month or the car of his choice.
Teachers and other professionals who travel between multiple schools during the school day can claim mileage as well they should. Sometimes they are placed in schools at opposite ends of the county.
I got a very quick response from Marshall Spatz at MCPS. Indeed the allowances are for "executive staff who must travel regularly for supervisory duties." I.e., a perk. I wish they would just call it compensation (at least Weast's is in his employment contract) but I'm sure they all track their "official" miles so they don't have to pay income tax on them...
The mileage reimbursement is for school-to-school travel. I wonder if there's a more efficient way to distribute those services - that is a lot of driving going on.
There are 22 MCPS employees currently receiving a car allowance. The amount budgeted for car allowances in FY 2012 is $171,600. The amount budgeted in FY 2012 for both local travel and mileage reimbursement is $1,944,306. The mileage reimbursement rate effective January 2011 as issued by the Internal Revenue Service is $.51 per mile.
Do you have evidence that these car allowances are in fact "perks"/excess compensation for the recipients?
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, there are likely to be MCPS positions that easily would require going to multiple MCPS locations every day and might even require the 60+ miles per day of driving implied by the car allowance. I imagine in some of the operationally-focused parts of the system (facilities, for example). Even some teachers might travel to multiple schools during the day.
How else are these employees going to get around the county? Should the wear & tear & gas be theirs to cover? Should they take the bus? MCPS could buy, garage and maintain the cars I suppose but that might in fact be more expensive and more prone to abuse and turning into an unwarranted "perk" (taking the car home).
So the right question is your first one: who is getting the car allowances - and the mileage reimbursements?
I also wonder about the numbers - if there are another $1.8 million of reimbursements for driving around the county, that implies 3.6 million miles of driving, or at least 450 employees driving 40 miles a day every day for 200 working days a year. Which seems terribly high. I would say "improbable" but this is MCPS, right? Perhaps other travel expenses are covered in that budget line...
If MCPS big-wigs are getting "company cars" that's a real problem. If the a couple dozen employees are spending 2 hours a day in the car traveling site to site, that's a different issue. If there are 500 employees driving around for more than an hour a day, that's a fiasco, but at least they probably have MCPS-paid cell service to do some work, even if they can't legally talk on the phone while they're driving :)
I filled out the "budget question" form so I'll see what I get back and share with you.
Gary - A car allowance is different from getting mileage. A car allowance is a monthly payment for a car. For example, Superintendent Weast gets a monthly car allowance of $750 a month or the car of his choice.
ReplyDeleteSee his contract, page 4.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/37450115/Superintendent-Jerry-Weast-s-Contract?query=car
Thanks for asking the budget question! We look forward to the answer to your questions.
Teachers and other professionals who travel between multiple schools during the school day can claim mileage as well they should. Sometimes they are placed in schools at opposite ends of the county.
ReplyDeleteI got a very quick response from Marshall Spatz at MCPS. Indeed the allowances are for "executive staff who must travel regularly for supervisory duties." I.e., a perk. I wish they would just call it compensation (at least Weast's is in his employment contract) but I'm sure they all track their "official" miles so they don't have to pay income tax on them...
ReplyDeleteThe mileage reimbursement is for school-to-school travel. I wonder if there's a more efficient way to distribute those services - that is a lot of driving going on.
Gary,
ReplyDeleteThanks. Did you get the list of the 22 who have this perk?
We want names!!
ReplyDelete