It may have taken about five months longer than expected, but some Fort Wayne police officers are now paying to use their cruisers for personal use.

But more than a third of the officers elected to skip the biweekly charge and have promised to use their cars only to commute and when on duty.

The program, which began in late January, will generate almost $15,000 a month for the city, but the police union said it also decreases the city’s police presence, which could end up costing the city more money.

Last summer, Police Chief Rusty York announced officers were going to have to begin paying a gasoline surcharge to help offset the rising cost of fuel. It was later determined that officers living within the city would pay $25 per biweekly paycheck and those living outside Fort Wayne but in Allen County would have to pay $30 per pay period.

Officers first paid this fee in their Jan. 23 paychecks.

But police officers weren’t required to pay the fee. They could elect to use the cars only for commuting and on-the-clock work and avoid the fee. Officers who pay the fee are allowed to use the vehicles for personal use, including going to the mall or grocery under the provision that they respond to certain emergency police calls.

Out of 414 police officers with take-home vehicles, 145 elected not to pay the fee, according to information provided by the department. The rest of the officers – including the police chief and the command staff – chose to pay money for vehicle privileges. The total fee paid by all officers totals $7,200 every two weeks.

York said he wasn’t surprised by the large number of officers who opted out of paying for their vehicles, although he did think it would be slightly less. While he proposed the program last summer, York said it took time to discuss the issue with the unions and get it administratively ready.

Gasoline prices have dropped substantially since the program was proposed, but York said it is still a fair policy, especially because officers aren’t forced to pay a fee.

“I think we were very fair in giving officers an option,” he said.

Other police departments typically don’t have as liberal a policy as Fort Wayne did, and York added many officers get a great benefit from using their take-home vehicles for personal use. Officers who pay the fee can even drive the cars to a second job, so long as it isn’t left idling or used for deliveries.

Members of the police union, however, criticized the program’s timing and its effectiveness in saving money.

Shane Hopkins, president of the Fort Wayne Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, said having officers help pay for gasoline was announced as a way to save the city money. But it was done at a time when gasoline hovered around $4 a gallon. He questioned the need for the fee now that gasoline prices have fallen by half.

“We don’t understand why it is an issue when gasoline prices have dropped significantly,” he said.

A survey done by the union, which represents patrol officers, found that a majority of officers would support a gasoline fee if it was only triggered when gas prices were more than $4 a gallon. The officers were split on having a fee at $3.50-a-gallon prices.

Councilman Tom Smith, R-1st, last year proposed a gasoline fee for officers before York announced his program. He said he still believes the fees are appropriate, but the city should re-evaluate the policy if gas prices stay low – something he doesn’t expect.

“Most people thought it was right to begin to charge for gasoline to some degree,” Smith said.

Smith added the evaluation of the program should also include its effect on crime.

Because 145 officers, including Hopkins, elected not to pay for their vehicles, that means there will be 145 fewer officers available to respond to a crisis, Hopkins said.

The city’s take-home police vehicle policy requires officers using the vehicles while off duty to have their police radios on and tell dispatchers if they are near an emergency call. They also must respond to any “on-view” situations, including “any crime in progress, a disabled vehicle with occupants, a traffic hazard, a vehicle accident, a person down or a flagrant traffic violation.”

Hopkins said several off-duty officers have helped with bank robberies and other crimes and noted some have even helped save lives while not on the clock. The Fort Wayne Police Department can operate with a smaller staff because of the take-home vehicle program, Hopkins said, but limiting that also limits the number of people fighting crime.

“When we reduce the use of vehicles, we also reduce the police presence on the street,” he said. “With the requirements we have, we are really not off duty.”

York said there is no question that the exposure of the vehicles has decreased with the fee program, but he disagreed that it would hurt the city’s ability to fight crime. He said police still drive the vehicles to and from home, to court, to training and to a variety of places.

“It won’t have a significant impact on fighting crime,” he said.

The dispute even has union ramifications, Hopkins said, as he believes it violated the collective bargaining agreement because the city asked officers to sign up for the program individually. Hopkins said it should have been dealt with through the union in negotiations. York said the union discussed having a vote on the issue, but it never happened and the city did not want to wait longer to implement the program.

The city and union plan to go to mediation to try to resolve this and other disputes, but a date has not yet been scheduled.