In Connecticut, Governor Malloy’s administration has embraced a proposal to install GPS tracking devices in one of the state’s largest fleets of vehicles to monitor usage, according to the Westport News.
State officials from the Dept. of Children and Families (DCF) requested GPS tracking devices for every one of its 750 vehicles, saying use of the GPS tracking devices will improve employee efficiency and resource management. The governor’s budget is expecting a net savings of $232,346 in fuel and overtime costs in the budget he unveiled recently.
“For some private-sector companies, GPS tracking devices have achieved notable savings,” Malloy spokesman Andrew Doba told the Associated Press. “We believe their implementation in DCF-owned automobiles will achieve the same results for Connecticut taxpayers.” Doba could not immediately say how much the GPS tracking technology and installation will cost.
Mr. Malloy is not the first governor to show an interest in GPS tracking technology.
In 2008, Gov. M. Jodi Rell commissioned a study of the effectiveness of GPS tracking devices. The study, conducted by the Dept. of Administrative Services, concluded that GPS tracking devices may improve employee safety, client response and increase productively and efficiency.
Rell’s mission was part of an executive order aimed at reducing the overall number of state cars and hold government employees more accountable for their use.
