Bremerton city employees must now leave city cars at work

Published 3:59 pm Friday, May 21, 2010

The City of Bremerton will reduce the number of employees who can take city cars home with them as a cost-saving measure by June 1, Mayor Patty Lent said Wednesday.

The move will affect 32 vehicles in the city fleet taken home by employees out of a total of 40, not counting the police fleet. The 21 cars police officers take home will not be affected for now, Lent said.

The city will also sell 17 of its vehicles and two dump trucks. It is contacting companies who may be interested in purchasing them.

Bremerton city government spends about $1 million a year in fuel costs for its fleet, Lent said, a cost that, along with maintenance expenses, she aims to cut.

Lent said she did not yet know how much money the new policy would save.

According to a city budget update presented to the City Council Finance Committee Wednesday, the city faces a $2.4 million general fund budget gap through December.