Mount Prospect adds village car to new manager's contract

Mount Prospect Village Manager Michael Cassady will have the use of a village vehicle for business and personal use, under an amendment to his employment contract approved Tuesday by the village board.

The use of the village-owned vehicle, a 2013 Ford Taurus, replaces the $500 monthly automobile allowance Cassady had been receiving.

Finance Director David Erb said the change will result in a slight savings to the village. The annual cost for replacement and maintenance on the vehicle is $5,700, $300 less than the yearly cost of the monthly automobile allowance.

The vehicle, which is slated for replacement in 2022, has fewer than 20,000 miles of use.

Mayor Arlene Juracek said the employee use of village cars has been a hot-button issue, especially "the purported mayor's vehicle, which is really the main hot-button issue."

"There is no 'Mayor's car' sitting in my driveway every night nor will there be," Juracek added. "As I have said for the umpteenth time - and hopefully tonight will be the last time - I do not drive a taxpayer paid for car."

There is a pool vehicle, she said, available for use by the mayor and trustees. It also has been used by the village engineer and the human services department.

"It's available for use on village business," Juracek said, adding that it received the designation "mayor's car" three generations of mayors ago and was used by former Mayor Gerald "Skip" Farley on trips associated with his work with the Joint Action Water Agency, the O'Hare Noise Commission and the Northwest Municipal Conference.

Cassady, who last year replaced village manager Michael Janonis, said the move makes sense, with the village vehicle being particularly useful during emergency situations.

"We have to respond to emergency situations 24/7. Sometimes it's not the best thing if you appear in a personal vehicle in the midst of a scene," he said.