City Government
Money Drives Mayors Car Policy
August 15, 2008 
Our CALDWELL GUARDIAN could not help but notice the car allowance for Mayor Nancolas of Caldwell in the new budget is a whopping a $10,000.00 a year. So, the two GUARDIANS set about a quest for knowledge of what other mayors in the valley are allowed for vehicle use:
From the fair city of Meridian–
“The City of Meridian provides Mayor de Weerd with a car for her use as well as the fuel and maintenance of the vehicle. For FY09 the City has budgeted $825 for fuel, $500 for maintenance, and $500 for repair of the vehicle. The Mayor is taxed on her personal use of the vehicle at $190.26 per month. I hope this answers your questions.”
That comes out to $1825 from the taxpayers, but Tammy is taxed on $2283.12 (W-2) for the use of the rig.
From Boise’s Team Dave–
“Upon taking office, the Mayor declined the $300 per month car allowance that had been taken by Carolyn Terteling-Payne. It has since been removed from the budget entirely.
The Mayor tries to ride his bike or walk to meetings. If he has an event outside of the downtown area he will occasionally check out a Boise City fleet vehicle (usually a hybrid) to drive to that event.”
From Nampa and Mayor Tom Dale–
Mayor’s office staff of four has a budget of $6000 for car use–they are paid mileage. They all use their own cars. Dale accounts for $4080 of the total.
Looks like “going green” in Caldwell refers to taxpayer cash.
To insure more advertising-free Boise Guardian news, please consider financial support.
Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Aug 15, 2008, 11:11 am
At $825 a year in fuel allowance Tammy sure isn’t going far. Dave walks or bikes….why not the trolly? Go easy on Nancolas….he deserves something in the way of perks – otherwise being the chief of that miserable town would get downright depressing!!
Aug 15, 2008, 2:38 pm
So what’s the big deal. Our leaders and military deserve respect. Maybe the car is bullet proof? Liberals like Dave B. just want us all to ride bikes. Ever tried to ride a bike in Canyon County?
Aug 15, 2008, 7:46 pm
I notice that the numbers provided by Meridian do not include the purchase price, depreciation and insurance costs and that the $825 for fuel at $4 a gallon is a little over 200 gallons. At 20 mpg that would be good for a little more than 4,000 miles a year. The numbers provided by Meridian just don’t add up to the true cost to taxpayers, the yearly cost of ownership to the taxpayers should have been included.
Aug 15, 2008, 11:33 pm
I have had the opportunity to witness Boise’s mayor arrive and depart from many functions outside if the downtown area, and within.
I have NEVER seen him arrive on a bike, and if it was outside the downtown area, he always arrived in a large SUV. I will admit that I haven’t witnessed every trip, but my experience is easily in the double digit range.
Aug 18, 2008, 1:12 am
Well, maybe Mayor Nancolas drives a gold-plated Hummer stretch limo.
What’s wrong with that?