Marshall County Fiscal Court members on Tuesday came to a stalemate while discussing how to handle county employee fuel usage.
The county has recently discussed installing a computerized system requiring employees to use a PIN when fueling work vehicles. On Tuesday, magistrates Rick Cocke and Johnny Bowlin voted against putting a system in place, citing apprehension by employees.
“The ones I talked to yesterday, they’re not in favor of this,” Bowlin said. “You haven’t sold this to the employees yet. They’re the ones I have to answer to.”
Deputy Judge Executive Brad Warning has presented information on the fuel tracking system at two recent court meetings.
“When we talked to these groups last year, they said about 90 percent of the time they saw savings in fuel where they didn’t know where it was going,” Warning said.
Warning had a brief discussion with Cocke, who voted against the purchase after saying he had spoken with “over 20” employees following last week’s meeting. Cocke said employees currently write down the time and gallons used on a piece of paper. Warning said the automated system would be punching in two four-digit numbers.
“I heard there were concerns…. that it’s going to be more time consuming,” Cocke said. “I value the opinion of our employees. If they’re going to be the ones using that equipment, I certainly think they deserve their opinions to be heard.”
Judge Executive Kevin Neal said he had used similar systems and compared it to filing up any tank.
“When you go to the gas pump and fill up your personal vehicle, you’re doing the exact same thing,” Neal said. “You’re entering information, you’re swiping that credit card…. The software is out there. Agencies are using it.”
Neal said it was up to county leadership to provide education on systems to employees. Cocke said the county should help employees understand before purchasing any system.
Magistrate Bob Gold motioned to purchase a fuel tracking system recommended by Warning. Neal gave a second, but Cocke and Bowling voted against the measure. The county had previously allocated $40,000 in the 2018 budget for the planned purchase.