Council approves updated policy on use of Town vehicles

By Cal Braid
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

At a May 27 Town council meeting, administration recommended that council accept revisions to the Town’s Use of Vehicles policy, which is reviewed for changes every three years. The previous policy format was deemed outdated and consisted mostly of procedural/operations sections.

Chris Eagan, director of planning, engineering and corporate services explained, “This policy–-the use of Town vehicles–-comes up in a three year rotation for review. We’ve taken the opportunity to reformat the policy to our current format which separates a good deal of the how to/must do parts of the policy into procedures and leaves the policy with the policy level direction to Town administration.”

He said the policy includes everything from lawn mowers, to front-end loaders, trucks, and light duty vehicles. The revised version of the policy includes the following guidelines:

-The Town requires all Town vehicles, and Town equipment used when performing work on behalf of the Town to be operated in a safe, courteous, and professional manner in compliance with the provincial Traffic Safety Act, Transportation of Dangerous Goods legislation, Occupational Health & Safety Act and all applicable Town policies and procedures.

-All persons utilizing a Town vehicle/equipment must have a valid Driver’s License with the required endorsements and an acceptable level of training.

-All Town owned vehicles and equipment are to be used only by employees, and only in the performance of their assigned duties, for authorized training purposes, and/or Town based business activities.

-Town vehicles and equipment are not to be used for personal gain.

-Administration shall establish procedures for this policy and shall be responsible to ensure the spirit and intent of the policy is adhered to.

Coun. Monica McLean made a motion to accept the updated policy and it was carried unanimously.

The previous policy, drafted in 2019, included some of the same provisions, but some notable changes that the new policy omits are:

-The police chief and fire chief are required to have an emergency vehicle at all times, except for the period of time they are on holidays. Therefore, they will have a Town emergency vehicle in their possession at all times.

-A Town of Taber employee shall take a Town vehicle outside of the Town of Taber limits only to perform their duties for the Town of Taber.

-Any staff member requiring the use of a Town vehicle to perform their duties while at work shall leave the Town vehicle in a designated Town of Taber owned site when that staff is not at work. The vehicle shall not be used to go to and from work at any time.