Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford Slashes Office Vehicle Fleet and Cell Phones
Office of the Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford|Thursday, April 7, 2011
Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford has eliminated half of the vehicle fleet owned by the State Treasurer’s Office and almost three-quarters of office cell phones. These spending reductions continue Rutherford’s mission to streamline the office, control the use of taxpayer dollars, and find creative ways to make state government work more efficiently.
“The fleet creates a number of fixed costs at taxpayer expense. Reimbursing mileage for state employees to occasionally use their personal vehicles to perform official duties keeps our costs manageable,” Rutherford said. “Every member of my staff owns a personal cell phone, the state doesn’t need to issue duplicate phones to most of these people. Taxpayers are demanding smaller government with balanced budgets. I hear them, and I’m finding ways to satisfy those expectations.”
The reduced fleet now consists of only six vehicles; the other six have been returned to the state’s Central Management Services to be repurposed or auctioned. Savings will be achieved by eliminating parking and maintenance costs. The remaining vehicles will be primarily used for treasurer’s staff to attend official outreach events to transport printed materials and equipment.
These vehicle and cell phone cost reductions come on the heels of Rutherford closing all six state treasurer satellite offices and creatively using tens of thousands of sheets of redacted letterhead from the former administration. Rutherford is also a strong, vocal supporter of the consolidation of the treasurer and comptroller offices. “My hope is that we’re setting an example for others in state government to reduce their own spending to help get our state deficit under control,” Rutherford said.
