The general public continues to complain about misuse of and a seemingly large number of state-owned vehicles. However, Mississippi has no statewide system to control its vehicle fleet, which consisted on July 21, 1993, of 4,622 passenger vehicles (1,249 automobiles; 2,784 pick-up trucks; and 589 vans/carryalls) and 2,114 non-passenger vehicles. Seventy-six agencies manage vehicles independently with no uniform standards for buying, use and control, maintenance, disposal, and inventory.
Mississippi should establish a new Motor Vehicle Management Division within the Department of Transportation (MDOT) to run a Statewide Vehicle Management System. The division could either administer the system using public employees or contract with the private sector. A Task Force for Better Vehicle Management and a State Fleet Manager would oversee a two-year transition period prior to starting the system on July 1, 1996. Agencies would pay rent into MDOT’s special revolving fund for motor pool and permanently assigned vehicles.
For a paper copy of this report, contact PEER by telephone at 601-359-1226 or by e-mail at reports@peer.ms.gov.