Mt. Prospect OK with officials taking village vehicles home

Mount Prospect trustees declared their support at a recent board meeting for a policy allowing some employees to take home village-owned vehicles, especially for emergency response situations.

Assistant Village Manager David Strahl said vehicles are assigned to himself, the public works director and deputy public works director, the two deputy police chiefs, the police chief, a police officer assigned for major case assistance, the fire battalion chief, the fire chief, the deputy fire chief and the fire marshal. They are used in the performance of their duties.

The newest car is a 2013 model, while the oldest is one from 2006. All cars are Fords, with the exception of one Chevy Impala.

Most of the Fords are the Explorer model.

Strahl said the vast majority of the vehicles are designated for emergency response for police and fire officials. The public works officials don't have cars with emergency lights and sirens, but they are still critical to emergency response, he added.

The cars have been involved in emergency situations, officials said.

Fire Chief John Malcolm said that he was on his way home when he received a call from his shift commander about a structure fire near Rand Road in Palatine. He knew that the fire command staff was already tied up with another fire so he took command until other personnel could be freed up. And Police Chief Tim Janowick said he was notified in his car about a shooting incident on South Elmhurst Road.

Trustee Paul Hoefert said public works people can be considered first responders in many situations, such as the Sakura restaurant fire and flooding in the village's downtown early this year.

Trustee Steven Polit said the total cost of all the take-home vehicles for use outside of the village is in the five-figure range.

He added that there is the risk of liability to the village in bringing a personal vehicle to a fire or crime scene.

And, he added, the village must reimburse employees for the mileage when they use personal vehicles on the job.

"Personally I think it's a wonderful insurance policy to pay (between $10,000 and $20,000) a year to have a decision-maker at a serious, serious incident that may occur anywhere around this community," said Trustee Michael Zadel. "That's a small price to pay."