Public servants with gas guzzlers? It doesn't add up

Call it GuzzlerGate. It seems Rich Crotty , Buddy Dyer and numerous other local deities are tooling around in their Boss Hogg gas guzzlers.

[Think Green]

When you are one of the elites --- elected or appointed officials feeding on the taxpayer's largese ---- you aren't actually spending real money --- "Thinking Green" takes on a whole new meaning!

[Dave]

Generally speaking, no government vehicle gets replaced until it is seriously broken. Crotty drives a five-year-old SUV because Orange County has not allowed him to purchase a newer car. He does not drive a Prius because the County tries to buy American when possible.

If you work the math, there is no way to save the taxpayers money by buying a newer car. The difference in mileage would never cover the $25,000 difference in price.

The Sentinel needs to start talking about the real world.

[Rich White]

"Dyer and Crotty have personally drowned three polar bear cubs." Your comments may help to get both Dyer and Crotty re-elected. In Florida many people would view this as a positive. The local taxidermist is salivating.

[Brian]

"I bet you could fit one Buddy Dyer, one Rich Crotty and at least five Charlie Crists in a Mazda3, which averages nearly 30 mph."

With all of those people, it probably would not be able to exceed 30 mph. ;-)

[Redogg]

Mike's right. Why are we paying for any of these people to have vehicles? All of the "work" they say they're traveling to, is already covered by another government worker that is also driving a taxpayer funded vehicle.
I say no take-home vehicles for any government employees. Most of the time they are just being used to drive the person to and from work anyway.

[Oboy]

This is precisely why I voted FOR Amendment 1. There is no question that the local governments could not do what they need to do for our communities and "trim the fat" off of their budgets. Problem is that working within a tighter budget means thinking harder, being innovative,exploring new ways of doing things, occasionally saying no (to people who don't like to be told no), doing without perks that have become "expected" rather than appreciated, and generally doing more with less. Believe me, I know as do most working families these days. The only difference is we have nobody we can go out and charge any extra "fees" to help our monthly family budgets.

What is really disgusting is that while we all do the best we can, maybe take a 2nd part-time job, drive less, and spend less, the local governments seem to say "Don't touch our budgets or we will "fee" you to death!" I can't say that with the budget cuts I have heard one single brave soul in a local government stand up and say, "Times are tough for all of us and we will all work hard to get through them together." What I hear is more like, "Well, if we can't get your money out of your right pocket, we will figure out a way to get it out of your left!"

While your at it, why don't you check these same guys water bills and see if they are saving and check in their front yards on recycle pick up day and see how full their bins are....wanna take any bets....?

[Friend]

This story has legs because it is about hypocrisy, lying and greed. No one who is a truly concerned about the environment shows up for a meeting to protect the environment in a two ton vehicle. Please, give us all a break. If you tailed our public officials you would find out two things. First, seldom if ever is there more than one person in the truck. Second, if you looked at how much personal use they declared you would find they lied their buts off. No public official who does not need a heavy vehicle to do his job has a right to ask some little old lady who lives on social security and has trouble coming up with the money for her light bill to pay for his $34,000 SUV. We need to start a fund to buy the mayors toyata prius. Maybe we could get a dealer to donate two for the cause.

[Still waiting]

Dave wrote:

Generally speaking, no government vehicle gets replaced until it is seriously broken. Crotty drives a five-year-old SUV because Orange County has not allowed him to purchase a newer car. He does not drive a Prius because the County tries to buy American when possible.
If you work the math, there is no way to save the taxpayers money by buying a newer car. The difference in mileage would never cover the $25,000 difference in price.
The Sentinel needs to start talking about the real world.

Now this my friends is an effective politician!

If buying new cars isn't cost effective how about selling these cars and using the proceeds to fund mileage reimbursements? Like Mike says make these guys drive their own cars.

[Lake County Resident]

Did you not consider how many city vehicles are being driven home? Take a look a the surrounding cities, it's awful and the tax payers are paying. And to think we have tax payers defending why "the politicians" should have the use of government cars. I agree w/Mike, make them drive their own cars. Pay for gas like the average citizen, as high as it is.

[GIVE ME A BREAK]

Think Green wrote:

When you are one of the elites --- elected or appointed officials feeding on the taxpayer's largese ---- you aren't actually spending real money --- "Thinking Green" takes on a whole new meaning!

---------- Ask them to start paying for their gas guzzlers & lets see how quick they turn the car in for something economical.

[EJP]

Excellent article! Right on target!

[Fire Them]

We as Americans must put aside partisan politics and vote out all the incumbents. We must then demand that these new faces make some serious changes.

[BuckStripes]

...Yes, Mike: "Why do we provide so many officials with take-home vehicles in the first place? Why can't they drive their own cars to work, just like the rest of us?"
...And the answer is (Tah Dah!): Because THEY are members of the Ruling Class, the local Lords and Ladies of that vast Barony which now owns the United States of America. Power and privilege is theirs, because we gave it to them, bit-by-bit. While the Fourth Estate either snoozed through the silent coup, or actually helped it along--by doing zip to crush it, when it wasn't encouraging it outright...
...For example: A Sentinel scribe recently suggested in his column that public officials ought to be paid even more lavishly than they are now--so that better people will fill the jobs...
...Indeed, that method has surely worked well over the last 50-plus years, which was when the Lords and Ladies of the realm got rich and richer parading around as our faux Public Servants...
...The Sentinel columnist musta been off jocking on the roads and rivers during that rising time of our Ruling Class. His name was (and still is) Mike Thomas...;-):-)

[pat of cocoa]

American cars are bad on gas but we can,t spend tax payer money on japanese cars,

[Wide Awake]

Could someone give us a tally on all these local vehicle costs and some idea of the percent of total budget they account for, plus a comparison of these costs to costs of important services, say eduation?

Mike has it right when he refers to the local "born-again greenie gig." At today's "Sustainable Communities Forum" at Leu Gardens, I photographed slews of SUV's in the parking lot.

There are places in the US where people elect officials who actually understand and protect the environment for following generations. Ultimately, it is uneducated, unaware, uninvolved, and/or careless voters who enable the ongoing "talk-green, act 1950's leadership" in Central Florida.

[Fred]

My Honda accord was made in america with 80% American parts.

pat of cocoa wrote:

American cars are bad on gas but we can,t spend tax payer money on japanese cars,

[What the heck]

All of the Orange County idiots including the Sheriff and his underlings are driving gas guzzlers.

In fact the pork chop Beary is allowing his underlings to drive gas guzzlers into other counties and at the taxpayers expense. We as taxpayers are also paying for the tolls.

These holy than hell politicians NEED to remember that their excesses will get them out of office!

ALSO GET RID OF THE ILLEGALS!

[WhatTheHell]

Mike, dig a little deeper and see how many employees...well beyond the elected officials and city/county managers...who (unnecessarily) have take home cars or receive the standard $400-450/month car allowance. How about departmental managers for the city of orlando? An argument can be made for those who have to respond to emergency situations...however, that upper level of management is rarely on the front line to respond. Sure, they'll make the argument that they MIGHT have to respond to an emergency...but ask how many times they have during their tenures. It might be surprising.

[Friend]

Honda's and Toyotas are made in America. Who knows who owns GM or Ford nowadays. Probably the Chinese. Some of the police cars are made in Canada.

[Dave]

Mike, you advocated wasting a lot more of the taxpayer's money on that clusterhump in Maitland than they've ever spent on cars. Why don't we go after wasteful development projects that will ruin a city first, then get around to the small potatoes stuff.