Topeka ? Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has made a lot of political mileage from efforts to reduce the state vehicle fleet, but some legislative leaders are questioning whether her decision will cost more over the long haul.

“I’m getting phone calls from people that say, ‘Not only will you not have savings, but you will have substantially higher costs,'” said Senate President Dave Kerr, a Hutchinson Republican. “I don’t want to ignore knowledgeable state employees.”

Acting on a request from Kerr, a legislative committee has ordered an audit on whether the state will realize savings from Sebelius’ move to dissolve the state’s Central Motor Pool.

The motor pool had maintained about 170 vehicles state employees could check out on a per-trip basis. In addition, the motor pool took care of about 1,330 vehicles assigned to specific state agencies.

Last month, Sebelius ordered the sale of 740 under-used cars and trucks, a two-year moratorium on most new vehicle purchases, and elimination of the motor pool. Many of those vehicles were assigned to state agencies to replace older vehicles, which will be part of the group that will be sold. Sebelius said the changes would save $8.6 million.

New procedures

Now, when state employees need to travel for state business, they have several options. They can use a state-owned vehicle assigned to their agency, use a private vehicle, rent a car from Enterprise Rent-A-Car or not take the trip.

“The agencies have to make their best decisions for each specific trip,” said Caleb Asher, a spokesman for the Kansas Department of Administration. Using privately owned vehicles may prove more enticing now because the state increased the travel reimbursement rate to 36 cents per mile from 20 cents per mile.

But some, including Kerr, have questioned whether renting a car is more cost-effective than having a state-owned vehicle in a motor pool.

‘Good deal’ offered on state cars (12-13-03) Sebelius to pare vehicle fleet (11-14-03) Cash-poor state is car rich (8-10-03) J-W Editorial: Idle vehicles (8-12-03) State vehicle ‘mess’ scrutinized (8-22-03) Graves blamed for car misuse (9-13-03)

“Were all the relevant numbers used?” in deciding to “privatize” state travel, he asked.

Inconclusive audit

A 1997 state audit studied whether it would be more cost-effective to have a motor pool or eliminate it and depend more on rentals. The answer was inconclusive, and the audit said more study was needed before the state made any decisions.

Now, the Legislative Division of Post Audit will conduct what is called a “100-hour audit” to study the recent decision by Sebelius. A “100-hour audit” refers to the amount of time an auditor will work on the issue. The audit, which was requested by Kerr and agreed to by five other members of the Legislative Post Audit Committee, will be finished early next year.

Asher said the question about the cost-effectiveness of renting vehicles versus having a motor pool with state-owned vehicles was discussed extensively within the administration.

“One thing that has come up a lot is, will it cost more to do Enterprise (the rental car agency)? The simple answer is no, it won’t. State agencies have no additional funds for travel, so decisions will have to be made to use the most cost-effective option,” he said.

A clear answer

Asher said the department had no problem with Kerr requesting the audit.

“We actually are kind of embracing that and think it’s a good idea to take a closer look at the changes that are happening in state government,” he said.

Nicole Corcoran, a spokeswoman for Sebelius, said, “We are confident the state will reap the expected savings. It will all be very clear once the process is done.”

Starting Jan. 5, the state will offer the 740 vehicles for sale to not-for-profit organizations and other local units of government, such as counties, cities and school districts. About a month later, the remaining vehicles will be turned over to an auction company for sale. Asher said details on how those sales will be done were still being decided.