It is the general policy of the City of Winchester to prohibit the personal use of city owned vehicles by city employees and officials subject to the following exceptions:
(A) Non-personal use vehicles. A non-personal use vehicle is any vehicle the employee or official is not likely to use more than minimally for personal purposes because of its design. Non-personal use vehicles include the following:
(1) Clearly marked police and fire vehicles;
(2) Unmarked vehicles used by law enforcement offices in their official capacity.
(3) Any vehicle designed to carry cargo with a loaded gross vehicle weight over 14,000 pounds.
(4) Tractors and other special purpose farm vehicles.
(B) Clearly marked police and fire vehicles may be used for commuting to and from work. No clearly marked police vehicle may be used for personal use outside the city limits of the City of Winchester. No clearly marked fire vehicle may be used for personal purposes outside the limits of White River Township which is the jurisdictional boundary for a firefighter’s emergency response. A police or fire vehicle is clearly marked if it has the city logo and name “City of Winchester” and “Police” or “Fire” painted in a manner that is easy to determine that the vehicle is a police or fire vehicle.
(C) Unmarked law enforcement vehicles can only be used for personal use for commuting to and from work. Use for a vacation or recreation trips is not an authorized use and is prohibited. A law enforcement officer is a full-time employee of the City of Winchester who is allowed to carry a firearm, execute search warrants and make arrests.
(D) The Park Superintendent and Street Commissioner shall be allowed to use a city owned vehicle for commuting to and from work so long as the Park Superintendent and Street Commissioner resides in the residence provided by the city which is located at the park.
(E) No other city employee or official shall be allowed to use any city owned truck or van for personal use, including commuting to and from work.
(F) Any use of a city owned vehicle for personal use that provides a benefit to the employee or official that has little value, (deminimis value) shall not be a violation of this section prohibiting personal use of city owned vehicles. An example of a deminimis value personal use of a city owned vehicle is where a city employee or official would stop for a personal errand while performing that employee’s or official’s official duties.
(Ord. 98-13, passed 12-21-98)