News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Several Overton County Commissioners expressed concern with $4,500 in mileage expenses filed by the County Executive.
Questions arose about why Steven Barlow used his own vehicle instead of a car owned by the county. Barlow said he previously used a Dodge Durango owned by the county but it broke down. Barlow said he was too large to comfortably fit in the other car in the county’s possession.
“Just because it’s me standing here saying, ‘Listen, I had to drive my car,’ and I mean, it was brought up that the nursing home has two vans and the senior center has vehicles I could took,” Barlow said. “Well the ambulance service has ambulances too the county owns and the sheriff department has cars. I could have got to my meetings a lot quicker if I took those.”
Commissioner Donna Savage questioned whether some of the mileage tracked could be considered official county business. She said the county has a policy that they will pay mileage if there is not a county vehicle available.
“Every one of us is on call twenty-four-seven,” Savage said. “There’s been many of nights I’ve rolled out of bed and went to that nursing home, and I wouldn’t dare ask the county to pay for my gas mileage. That’s our job. That’s what we do when we run for this job.”
The Commission voted to table mileage pay and send it back to the Ethics and Policy Committee to review Barlow’s mileage. The Budget Committee and Ethics and Policy committee had previously passed the mileage pay.
“I took it and tracked it,” Barlow said. “Everything is legal. I’m not trying to take advantage.”
