5-2031: Transportation

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to set forth the Sacramento County policy regarding transportation and mobility for officials and employees during the conduct of official County business, while using County-owned Light and Heavy vehicles and equipment. 

Authority

The Board of Supervisors delegated authority to the County Executive for this policy and the Director of General Services (Director) is responsible for implementing the policy.

Scope

This policy applies to the use of County vehicles/equipment for County of Sacramento-related business by all County employees, County officials and agents of the County; as well as the use of County-owned and County-leased vehicles for other public agency – related business.

Definitions 

Departmental Sub-pool: A vehicle or group of vehicles that are permanently assigned to a requesting department. These vehicles are “rented” from FSD on a monthly basis, the cost of which includes depreciation and maintenance. Fuel is not included. 

Duty Hour Retention: A vehicle assigned for duty hour use only. See page 4 for the conditions for use. 

Fleet Services Division (FSD):

• Light Vehicle/Equipment Section: Operates a vehicle/equipment rental fleet for supported County departments, in addition to interdepartmental vehicle pools for use by County employees. 
• Heavy Vehicle/Equipment Section: Operates a vehicle/equipment rental fleet of vehicles over 15,000 Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) for supported County departments. The Heavy Vehicle/Equipment Section is also responsible for providing maintenance support for various County departments for their assigned vehicles/equipment.

Home Retention: Vehicles assigned on long-term basis or standby duty of 2-3 times per month for travel to/from the assignee’s home to/from their job location, meetings after hours, or other response requirements. See page 10 for the conditions for assignment.

Interdepartmental Pool: A pool of vehicles established and maintained in FSD for use by multiple departments when sufficient demand exists and it is cost effective. The pools serve as the primary source of transportation for general, short-term, and/or occasional use of vehicles.

Overnight Retention: Vehicles assigned for home retention for very short duration. See page 5 for conditions for assignment. 

Pool Vehicles: Vehicles that are available for daily rental through the FSD’s interdepartmental pool. These may include light or heavy fleet vehicles.Heavy fleet rental vehicles may require special training and/or licenses.​​

Policy

County-owned and County-leased vehicles/equipment shall only be used for official business except for food purchases (breaks and lunches) and restrooms while conducting county business. No incidental use is allowed. 

County-owned, County-leased, and privately owned vehicles/equipment operated for official business shall be operated in accordance with all federal, state, and local safety and legal requirements.​

Checking out a Pool Vehicle 

To check out a pool vehicle, each employee driver/operator must: 

• Use the vehicle/equipment to conduct official business. 
• Show the dispatcher a valid class C California driver's license (or better) for light vehicles/equipment or valid class A or B California driver's license for heavy vehicles/equipment. 
• Provide the required billing information (necessary for light vehicles/equipment only). 
• Not have been denied the use of County vehicles by the Director or any other agency or department head. 
• Return the vehicle/equipment to the pool. Checkout periods shall be limited to the shortest practical time so that vehicle/equipment utilization can be maximized, and fleet size kept at a minimum.

Special Authorizations

When an interdepartmental pool vehicle/equipment is required for out-of-county travel, overnight retention, or duty-hour retention, a Vehicle Assignment Request Form FSD 013 (Attachment A in the Transportation Procedures & Guidelines), shall be properly completed, approved by the department head or their designated representative, and submitted to the FSD Automotive Services Manager. These three types of travel are described in the Transportation Procedures and Guidelines. 

Department sub-pools of County vehicles/equipment may be established when a department needs transportation, and the following conditions exist: 

• Vehicle and/or equipment requirements cannot be satisfied by the existing interdepartmental pools due to the remoteness of the user department's location or special equipment needs of the user department. 
• The establishment of an additional interdepartmental pool would not be feasible. 
• Utilization of equipment rental and/or ride hailing service contracts is not feasible for meeting the department’s transportation and mobility requirements. 
• The need cannot be adequately and economically satisfied by allowing the use of suitable privately owned vehicles/equipment.

Sub-pool vehicles shall not be used by any employee for overnight retention except when authorized by the department head and coordinated with the FSD Automotive Services Manager via a properly completed and approved Vehicle Assignment Request Form FSD 013. Department heads shall designate an individual who is responsible for maintaining proper control and records of use for each sub-pool vehicle. 

Department Assigned Vehicles 

All requests for department-assigned vehicles must be justified in writing to the Director and FSD (or the Director of Airports, if the vehicle is assigned to Airport staff. Once approved, if there are no vehicles available in the FSD pool, departments are required to obtain Board of Supervisors approval to add additional vehicles to the County fleet. Policies and procedures for additional vehicles are contained in the “Light Fleet Vehicle Addition Policy,” “Heavy Fleet Vehicle Addition Policy” and accompanying procedures documents. 

FSD will only purchase or lease vehicles powered by the most sustainable renewable or low-carbon fuels available and practical at time of purchase that are consistent with achieving and maintaining compliance with federal, state and local regulatory requirements. This includes renewable electricity, hydrogen fuel cells and/or other GHGreducing hybrid technologies. Exceptions may be granted for authorized emergency support vehicles as defined in California Vehicle Code (CVC) Section 165 and other unique duty circumstances that meet the California Air Resources Board’s exemption criteria and with approval of the County Executive, or their designee. 

Duty-Hour Retention, Overnight Retention, or Home Retention 

Department Heads and elected officials must ensure all vehicle and equipment assignments conform to the County Transportation Policy. 

Assignments to individuals shall be specified as "duty hour retention," "overnight retention,” or "home retention." 

Home retention assignees are only authorized to drive the County vehicle while conducting official County business, other than driving the vehicle to and from home. 

Individual’s assigned County vehicles/equipment shall abide by the provisions of this policy and shall be responsible for bringing the vehicles/equipment to County maintenance facilities at appropriate times for maintenance or inspections. 

Vehicles/equipment assigned to individuals shall be made available for official use by other employees at all times when immediate availability to the assignee is not required. 

County vehicles/equipment may be assigned to individuals when essential to the County for safety, cost, or operational effectiveness reasons. All individual County vehicle/equipment assignments must be justified in writing to the Director and FSD prior to the assignment and are subject to periodic review. 

Home retention requests for County vehicles must be submitted in writing to the department head for approval, along with the “Acknowledgement of County Policies re: Home Retention Vehicles” (Attachment B in the Transportation Procedures and Guidelines). Once approved, the request is forwarded through the Director of DGS to FSD for review and approval. 

Justification for Assigning Duty Hour or Home Retention Vehicles

Duty Hour

The minimum justification for duty hour retention shall include: the nature of the assignee’s duties, the need for a specially equipped vehicle, and a cost comparison of the use of a County vehicle versus a privately-owned vehicle. The department head may authorize an assignee with permanent duty hour retention to retain the County vehicle/equipment, overnight and/or weekends. Except in an emergency, this approval must be obtained in advance. 

Home Retention

Two factors must be satisfied before assigning an overnight retention vehicle: 1) is it more efficient for the employee to go directly to an event or project site, and if so, 2) do they need a County vehicle to perform their job (e.g., specially equipped vehicles). Overnight assignments shall be kept to a minimum and shall not be used for permanent home retention assignments. Overnight retention assignments must also be documented in the departments’ travel log. 

Limitations of Assigning Duty Hour or Home Retention Vehicles 

Critical Needs

It is the intent of this policy to limit home retention uses to critical needs. Pursuant to their directives, the respective department heads may request an individual be assigned home retention privileges if home retention is deemed to be in the public interest and/or the task(s) to be performed when called during off duty hours is beneficial to the County and is necessary to:

• Immediately travel to the job location. 
• Respond to after hour emergencies within the County on a regular basis; employees operating emergency response vehicles/equipment must be capable of responding within the time designated by department policy for emergency call outs, but generally not more than 30 minutes. 
• Reduce cost by having an employee report directly to the job location. 
• Require an employee to be available other than normal duty hours to respond to different County locations. 
• Prevent vandalism to vehicles/equipment, which are typically parked overnight at outlying substations or branch offices.

In all cases listed above, the home retention justification must also require a specially equipped vehicle or special equipment or mission-related supplies that are installed or stored in the vehicle or not easily transferred from one vehicle to another (i.e., radios, tools, infant car seats, bulk supplies, construction/repair equipment, etc.). 

Assignment Not More than 5 Miles Outside of County, With Limited Exception 

To respond timely, or reduce costs, home retention assignments should not be more than 5 miles outside County boundaries and employees should be able to be at their on-call assignment location within 20 minutes. A Deputy County Executive may approve exceptions up to 20 miles outside County boundaries. Commuters beyond these parameters must arrange to store the vehicle at a secure facility, such as a police or fire station en route to their home.

Limitations on Use of Duty Hour and Home Retention Vehicles 

Vehicle Use for County Business Only and No Family Permitted in the Vehicle

For liability reasons, stops to drop off or pick up the assignee’s children or other family members are not allowed. Transportation of children as necessary in the direct line of duty (i.e., Child Protective Services, Probation, Sheriff, or other such departments) is exempt from this prohibition. 

Storage of Vehicles

County vehicles/equipment assigned for home retention shall be stored in such a manner that reasonably provides for the protection of the vehicle/equipment. 

Vehicle Decals May Not Be Removed or Vehicles Otherwise Personalized

Home retention assignees are prohibited from removing County vehicle decals or any other such identification such as County seals or vehicle identification numbers. Assignees shall not “personalize” a County vehicle, either by maintaining an excessive amount of personal belongings in the vehicle or by modifying the cosmetics or mechanical systems of the vehicle in any way. Only vehicles designated by the Sheriff, District Attorney, Chief Probation Officer, and the Department of Human Assistance in their respective departments, with the approval of the Board of Supervisors, as necessary for confidential departmental investigations, may be exempted from the foregoing provision. The department shall keep a record showing the use of each motor vehicle exempted. 

Drivers May Not Be Impaired While Driving an Assigned Vehicle

Assignees are prohibited from operating a County vehicle with any amount of alcohol or legal or illegal substance in the employee’s blood stream that may cause driver impairment. Violation of this policy is grounds for revocation of home retention rights and other disciplinary actions as may be deemed appropriate by the assignee’s supervisor. 

County Executive Authorization of Vehicle Assignment to Appointed Staff and Department Heads

The County Executive, or their designee, may authorize the assignment of a suitable County vehicle/equipment to appointed staff and department heads based on an individual consideration of position, the position’s responsibilities, and specific transportation needs. Such authorization by the County Executive shall conform to the requirements for assignments outlined in this policy, as they pertain to Duty Hour, Overnight or Home Retention. 

The County Executive, or their designee, may approve lease vehicles to provide for specific operational considerations. Leased vehicles/equipment provided to County officials and employees are for official County use as follows:

Members of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors:

​ County Board of Supervisors... Eligible for lease vehicles at County expense when used for official business as described in County Ordinance No. 1238, Section l .d. (ii).

​​Elected officials and County employees:

May be provided lease vehicles for official use as specified in County Resolution No. 80-1505.

Other County officials or employees:

​May be provided lease vehicles when such use has been determined to be in the best interest of the County.

Special Consideration Not Included in this Policy for Assignment of Vehicles

The department head may recommend assignment of a County vehicle in special situations not encompassed by the above sections. Each recommendation shall be specified as either "overnight retention" or "duty hour retention." The recommendation shall be in writing to the County Executive, or his designee, from the department head explaining the transportation needs, making that individual assignment of the vehicle/equipment serve the best interests of the County. 

When an official or employee plans to be out of the County on official business and needs a vehicle upon arrival by a common carrier, an appropriate vehicle may be rented from an outside vendor if the department head approves a prior authorization, and the authorization is reflected on the travel request. 

Other County Policy Considerations 

Driving a vehicle home may subject the driver to Internal Revenue Service rules concerning additional compensation. Refer to the Transportation Procedures and Guidelines for more information. 

Policies and Guidelines regarding the use of privately owned vehicles, and mileage reimbursements are addressed in the County Travel Policy. 

Use of County Vehicles

County-owned and County-rented vehicles/equipment shall be used for official County business only and shall be operated in a manner consistent with all federal, state, and local safety and legal requirements. Employees violating this provision are subject to disciplinary action, loss of driving privileges, and any financial obligations incurred. County-owned and County-rented vehicles may be used to drive outside the county lines for very brief periods of time in the course of business without prior permission. Some examples would be when an employee is utilizing a roadway that exits the county then enters the county again and taking a different route would increase fuel costs/time to conduct business or when an employee is conducting business where expediency is needed (safety issues, notifications, etc.). 

County-owned and County-rented vehicles/equipment shall not be used to transport any passengers other than authorized County employees on official County business or persons directly involved in official County business (e.g., welfare recipients, prisoners, speakers, or fellow conference members). 

Authorization from the customer department head is required for special circumstances, ("Bring Your Child To Work Day," ride along, etc.).

Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the carrying of any person or persons in case of accident or other emergency. The Director must authorize any other exception. 

The provisions of this policy shall not be construed to prohibit the use of County vehicles/equipment by properly authorized, non-employee drivers. Non-employee drivers must be identified by written authorization from the Director, or their designee. Non-employee drivers for the Airports must be identified by written authorization from the Airport Fleet Manager. Non-employee drivers for the SDA must be identified by written authorization from the SDA Director or designee. 

Nothing herein shall prohibit the use of County vehicles by non-employees, in case of accident or other emergency. 

Safety, Accidents, Liability and Disciplinary Action 

Any employee involved in an accident in a county vehicle regardless of fault shall complete defensive driver training. An employee within a department with an established driver safety program that has successfully completed defensive driver training within 12 months ​prior to the date of the accident may be excluded from this requirement with the approval of the employee’s department. 

Unsafe driver behavior may lead to suspension of vehicle privileges for up to 6 months and, if suspended, shall require defensive driver training prior to reinstatement of driving privileges.

Unsafe driver behavior includes but is not limited to

• Two or more speeding incidents of 20 miles per hour over the posted speed limit within a 12-month period as evidenced by reports obtained from the County’s vehicle tracking or GPS system. 
• Two avoidable collisions as indicated by a Supervisor on a Drivers Report of Accident within a period of 36 months. 
• Two or more moving violation citations within a period of 36 months. 

Departments with an established driver safety program are encouraged to follow the Transportation Policy Guidelines at a minimum.

Installation of Personal Property or Modifications of Vehicles or other County Equipment 

No employee shall install or cause to be installed in or on the County vehicle/equipment, any article of personal property without prior approval of the Chief, FSD, Fleet Services Automotive Services Manager, or the Fleet Services Heavy Equipment Manager. 

County equipment may be installed in privately owned vehicles/equipment used for County business upon the written request of the department head involved and upon the approval of the Director. Upon installation of the County equipment, the employee (i.e., the owner of the vehicle) shall be responsible for any damage, theft or misuse of the equipment involved. County equipment installed on a privately owned vehicle/equipment must be removed before the owner can dispose of or transfer the vehicle/equipment. 

Vehicle Engine Idling Limit 

Based on State regulations and the County’s endeavor to reduce carbon emissions, there is a five-consecutive minute engine idling limit for all vehicles and equipment in the County’s fleet. To ensure that the engine idling limit is observed, data from the County’s vehicles tracking or GPS system will be used for review or reporting.

There are limited exemptions to this policy as outlined in Attachment E in the Transportation Procedures and Guidelines. 

Department of General Services, Fleet Services Division (FSD) Responsibilities:

• Conduct all aspects of fleet asset management, including but not limited to, efficiently managing all assets associated with fleet operations to optimize asset lifecycles from acquisition to usage and surplus or other resale. 
• Maintain all light and heavy vehicles for use by County staff., 
• Maintain a pool of daily rentals that are available for employee use while performing County business. 
• Establish, coordinate, and oversee temporary (short-term and seasonal) equipment rentals, ride sharing services, and county fleet equipment sharing to meet the transportation and mobility needs for County employees' official use. 

County Executive and Deputy County Executive Responsibilities

• Within the parameters of this Policy, the Deputy County Executives will establish guidelines for home retention within their assigned agencies. 
• Annually, review the necessity for each individual vehicle/equipment assignment prior to submitting departmental budget requests to the County Executive. 

Department Head Responsibilities 

• Ensure department employee adherence to the policy and, when necessary, take corrective action. 
• Ensure that employees that use county fleet vehicles or personal vehicles for County business are properly licensed and trained. 
• Annually, review each individual vehicle assignments and reduce non-essential vehicles. 
• Notify FSD when an employee’s driving privileges have been suspended. 
• Coordinate with DGS to establish the designated number of EV parking spaces and charging and/or fueling infrastructure required to support complete conversion of assigned fleet of vehicles to zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2035. 
• Costs of repairing damage to County vehicles/equipment resulting from collisions, accidents, gross negligence or willful misconduct by the employee having custody of the vehicle will be direct billed to the assigned vehicle’s department and may be recoverable from the employee, and/or result in disciplinary action. 
• The payment of parking and/or vehicle tows or storage fees are the responsibility of the department to which the vehicle is assigned. Parking citations issued to a County vehicle/equipment are the responsibility of the employee who parked the vehicle. If the employee cannot be identified, the department to which the vehicle is assigned shall be responsible. 
• Existing assignments that are no longer justified shall be terminated by the department head within 30 days and the department head shall notify the FSD Automotive Services Manager that the vehicle/equipment has been converted to departmental pool utilization or will be returned to the interdepartmental pool. 
• Departments shall maintain a list of current assignments including the type of vehicle/equipment, job classification, name of the person and contact information to whom the vehicle is assigned, and justification for the assignment. Upon request, this list shall be sent to the Chief, FSD and/or the FSD Automotive Services Manager. All assignments not appearing on the list will be terminated. 
• When the department head determines there is no longer a need for after-hours availability, the assignee shall discontinue driving the vehicle/equipment to and from work. 

Driver Responsibilities 

• The driver of a motor vehicle/equipment used on County business must be satisfied that the vehicle is in good operating condition before embarking on a trip. The following items are to be checked by the driver prior to the use of any vehicle: 
  • Brakes
  • Lights
  • Horn
  • Tires
  • Fuel
  • State of charge for electric vehicles
  • Seat belts
  • Vehicle body damage
  • Rear view mirror
  • Windshield wipers 
• Mechanical defects must be reported to the nearest maintenance facility. 
• The use of seat belts is mandatory. It is the driver's responsibility to ensure all passengers are provided with and are utilizing seat belts; and obey Federal, State, or local traffic laws and ordinances at all times. 
• Smoking is prohibited in all County vehicles/equipment. This includes electronic smoking devices or other paraphernalia. 
• Drivers are required to follow all federal, state and local laws governing the operation of vehicles. 
• At no time shall a vehicle/equipment be operated in which the driver/operator shall be distracted. This would include any distraction including cell phones or other electronic devices, while the vehicle is being operated (either in motion, or at stop signals). Drivers must comply with California Vehicle Code 23123.5, which provided that no person shall drive a motor vehicle while holding and operating a handheld wireless telephone or an electronic wireless communications device unless the wireless device is designed and configured to allow voice-operated and hands-free operation and is used in that manner while driving. Emergency service professionals are exempt from this policy restriction while operating an authorized emergency vehicle. 
• Traffic citations and toll violations issued to an employee while using a County vehicle/equipment are the sole responsibility of the employee that was operating the vehicle/equipment at the time of the citation or toll violation. 

County Risk Management Office Responsibilities

The County Risk Management Office is responsible for processing all vehicle/equipment accident claims by and against the County or other entities covered by the insurance policies. All accidents or damage to any vehicle or equipment must be reported to the nearest maintenance facility and Risk management. The procedures for reporting an accident are described in the Transportation Procedures & Guidelines.

Vehicle Safety Committee Responsibilities and Membership

• Review accidents and the County’s overall driver safety record, make policy and/or procedure recommendations based on this review, determine if additional corrective action, such as training, equipment changes, or other actions could enhance the safe operation of County vehicles and/or personal vehicles used for county business. 
• Review driving records, GPS reports and citizen complaints of individual employees and, in consultation with the respective department director, recommend whether driving privileges should be suspended or revoked. 
• Review issues that arise with respect to compliance with this policy. 
• The Vehicle Safety Committee shall include the Risk Management Division Manager, Director of General Services, Deputy Director of General Services, Division Chief of Fleet Services, DGS Fleet Managers, County Safety Officer, and the Director of Human Resources. 
• Exemption for Law Enforcement Departments with Documented Procedures for Driver Safety: Law enforcement departments that have documented procedures and/or policies for reviewing accidents and making recommendations to address driver behavior are exempt from the vehicle safety committee review process. 

Other Related Procedures: Credit Cards/Fueling/GPS/Non-County Owned Vehicles/Equipment

County vehicles/equipment must be fueled at County-operated fueling facilities whenever operationally feasible. At the request of department heads and with the approval of the Fleet Services Automotive Services Manager, fuel credit cards may be issued to employees who use County vehicles but do not routinely report to County facilities equipped with fuel pumps or who work irregular hours (e.g., law enforcement personnel). Employees shall use the issued fuel credit cards only when it is not practical to use County fueling stations. If a County-issued fuel credit card is used to acquire fuel at a commercially operated fueling site, self-service fuel dispensing must be used. Fuel credit cards may also be issued for authorized out-ofcounty trips. 

Except for use in purchasing other items that may be needed on an emergency basis, fuel credit cards shall be used only for required purchase of gasoline and oil. If purchased items are not in compliance with this section, the cost of the items shall be recoverable from the employee. Only regular grade fuel (87 octane) may be purchased with a County fuel credit card, unless the vehicle/equipment specifically requires a higher-octane fuel (such as some of the Sheriff motorcycles, for example). 

Employees and other authorized drivers may, in the course of their employment, be asked to drive County vehicles that are equipped with GPS technology. Only agency/department heads, or their designee, will have access to the GPS system regarding employee vehicle reporting. GPS data may be used for monitoring employee travel to maximize route efficiencies, reinforcing safe driving practices, confirming Zero Emissions Vehicle suitability and performance specifications, and may be used in the course of pending investigations. Certain categories of vehicles/equipment will automatically be outfitted with GPS technology to maximize the safety, security and diagnostic monitoring features of the system. 

All vehicles/equipment purchased or leased by individual agencies, departments, and districts that are not part of the County organization, will be subject to the owning entities’ policies and guidelines regarding vehicle/equipment use.