Perhaps more so than any other fleet sector, government fleets face a difficult challenge when it comes to budgeting. The reason is that they’re funded largely by tax revenues, and politicians who want to be re-elected are reluctant to raise taxes, even as fleet costs rise. In addition, a number of states may see declining tax revenues as a result of the new federal tax law, which has placed a lower limit on the deductibility of state and local taxes.
Our first contributor to our new column for government fleet managers, Steve Saltzgiver, is a distinguished and seasoned fleet professional, member of the Government Fleet Hall of Fame, and a Government Fleet Legendary Achievement Award recipient with experience managing a city fleet, two state fleets and two Fortune 500 fleets. He is also member of the NAFA board of directors and is a former director of the National Council of State Fleet Administrators. — Mark Boada, Senior Editor
_____
By Steve Saltzgiver, Fleet Management Consultant, Mercury Associates
The two best ways for a fleet to reduce its costs are to implement a sound replacement program and a departmental charge-back process. A well-designed and managed vehicle replacement program avoids the common problem of holding a vehicle so long that maintenance and repair costs make its total cost of ownership higher than that of a new vehicle.
On the other hand…READ MORE