Background

Vehicles owned by the Division have been purchased with public funds and as a result the Division has a responsibility to ensure that the vehicles are used for the purpose for which they were intended. Division-owned vehicles should be available to staff and trustees where appropriate to ensure efficient use of personnel and resources. The Director of Transportation is responsible for the administration of this administrative procedure.

General Procedures

1. The Director of Transportation will maintain the inventory listing of all Division-owned vehicles, including unit, serial and license plate numbers, and primary users of all vehicles. The Director of Transportation will be responsible for determining the replacement schedule, assignment and reassignment of Division-owned vehicles.
2. The Director of Transportation will be responsible for ensuring all Division-owned vehicles are adequately registered and insured.
3. Operators of a Division-owned vehicle must possess an up-to-date, valid driver’s license. A driver’s license abstract may be requested by the Superintendent, or designate.
4. A Driver's File is maintained to ensure compliance with insurance on abstract collection and driver training.
5. Drivers shall ensure all maintenance on assigned Division-owned vehicles (e.g. oil changes, winterizing, annual checkup, etc.) is completed and schedules kept current and complete. Such vehicle maintenance schedules shall be approved by the Director of Transportation.
6. When a division vehicle is used, all mileage is to be documented including destination, personal mileage, and condition of the vehicle. This can be done on the electronic mileage log provided.
7. Drivers shall obey all traffic rules when operating a Division-owned vehicle. Under no circumstances will the Division pay any parking tickets or fines related to traffic violations that occurred while an individual was operating a Division-owned vehicle.
8. Drivers will be required to immediately report any accident involving a Division-owned vehicle to the Director of Transportation.
9. Some Division staff will be assigned a Division-owned vehicle by the Director of Transportation. For all other Division staff and trustees, vehicles must be signed out through the Director of Transportation.
10. In the event that an employee has a private company, the use of Division-owned vehicles is not permitted to carry on the business of that company.
11. Vehicles will be available for Trustees for meetings and other business. Vehicles will be retained at each of the Bonnyville and Lac La Biche offices and a site in Cold Lake.
12. It is the responsibility of all employees and Trustees to ensure that Division-owned vehicles are used whenever possible to conduct Division business. If a Division-owned vehicle is available but the employee chooses not to use it, then a mileage rate of one half of the approved division mileage rate will be paid for use of the employee-owned vehicle.

Personal Use Procedures

1. Generally, Division-owned vehicles shall not be used for personal use and shall be used for the purpose of carrying out Division business. Travel logs will be maintained to quantify the personal use for each vehicle and logs may be requested and reviewed throughout the year. 
2. A taxable benefit for personal use of a Division-owned vehicle will be calculated annually based on Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) current rules.
3. In the event an employee or Trustee has Division-related business the next day, the employee or Trustee may take the Division-owned vehicle home the evening prior to the business and return the vehicle the morning after if the employee or Trustee lives more than 15km away from the storage site. 
4. Employees will only be allowed to use a Division-owned vehicle for Division business if the standard would be to reimburse for mileage. For example, if a teacher is required to attend teachers’ convention and are not being reimbursed expenses, they should not be using a Division-owned vehicle. 
5. In the event that there are multiple requests for booking the same Division-owned vehicle, the person that would be travelling the furthest for the longer period of time will receive first priority of the booking.