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June 05, 2003 Governor Presides Over “Riley Round Up” As Hundreds Of Unnecessary State Vehicles Are Turned In For Auction Montgomery — Gov. Bob Riley directed the activity at the State Surplus Property Warehouse on Thursday as government agencies met an 11:00 a.m. deadline to turn in all non-essential state vehicles in an effort to ensure taxpayer dollars are being spent as efficiently and effectively as possible. “As long as it’s necessary, the scene occurring behind me will be repeated over and over again,” Riley said as the soon to be auctioned vehicles pulled onto the lot. “Throughout this administration, we will continue an aggressive campaign against waste and abuse within the state’s automobile fleet and every other area of state government.” During the event, Riley personally directed the activity as more than 150 unnecessary and unneeded state vehicles were added to those already turned in over the past few days as a result of the governor’s cost-cutting efforts. In total, 567 vehicles were tagged as non-essential in the first phase of Riley’s vehicle round up. It is estimated that eliminating the automobiles from the fleet will produce about $5 million in revenue for the state from their auction and reduced operating costs. The governor began his study into the state fleet after learning that the cost of purchasing state-owned automobiles rose from approximately $11.4 million in 1999 to almost $20 million in 2002. At the same time, the cost of operating vehicles in the state fleet went from $13.5 million in 1999 to more than $20 million in 2002. In March, State Finance Director Drayton Nabers announced the comprehensive review of state vehicles and became the first state employee to turn in the keys to his own assigned automobile. Also at that time, he announced the state would discontinue the purchase of luxury automobiles, such as the Crown Victoria, and would move to filling the fleet with smaller, more economical cars. The finance director estimated that reducing the state fleet to only absolutely necessary vehicles would result in annual purchasing savings of $5 million and operating savings of about $2 million annually. State-owned vehicles were evaluated over the last three weeks on a case-by-case basis. Retired U.S. Army Reserve Maj. Gen. Bob Land volunteered his time to review every vehicle operated by more than 70 state agencies. Land was assisted by the State Finance Department, which holds titles for state cars and the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs Surplus Property Division, which will handle the storage and sale of the vehicles. The vehicles will first be made available for purchase by local government and non-profit agencies. After 60 days, any remaining cars will be sold at public auction. | |
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