Fleet includes 10 assigned Toyotas, 8 for general use
MassHousing spends $102,000 a year to lease 18 Toyotas employees can use for free — at a time when Gov. Charlie Baker has said he’s clamping down on state agency vehicle use.
Ten of those cars, all 2015 or 2017 Camrys, are provided for 24/7 use by inspectors and managers the agency says are on the road “51 percent” of the day. The other eight cars are available for use by any of the 375 employees, said MassHousing spokesman Tom Farmer, who said he takes public transportation to the office and uses a car when work takes him on the road.
“Any MassHousing employee with a valid driver’s license can use an agency vehicle provided: They receive written permission from a supervisor and the vehicles can only be used for official agency business,” Farmer stated in an email.
He added employees can take a car overnight if work requires them to do so.
MassHousing also pays a $4,240 monthly parking bill to LAZ Parking and employees are reimbursed for gassing up the cars.
The cars are parked at the same One Beacon Street address as the MassHousing offices, located just a few blocks from the State House. LAZ Parking said yesterday there’s a waiting list to get a reserved spot and daily rates are as high as $42.
The 10 staffers at the quasistate agency who get a takehome Toyota include seven “relationship managers” who are paid anywhere from $98,000 to $138,800, MassHousing said yesterday.
Director of Community Services Thaddeus Miles, paid $159,300 a year, has a 2017 Camry full time, the agency added.
Two inspectors from the Design & Construction unit — with salaries of $82,400 and $96,900 — also drive Camrys on the agency’s dime.
“There are no vehicles assigned to the Executive Director or her direct reports,” Farmer added.
Two years ago, Baker stripped dozens of state employees of their take-home, state-owned cars. This summer Baker doubled-down on that policy after the Herald reported the $174,700-a-year head of the Mass Cultural Council has an assigned Toyota Prius C III— a $404.63-a-month lease plus Back Bay parking and gas, usually purchased near her North Shore home.
Leased and rented vehicles for state workers, so everyone from University of Massachusetts chancellors to gaming inspectors could get around, overall cost taxpayers nearly $6 million last fiscal year, the Herald reported this summer.
MassHousing leases its fleet from ACT Leasing, the same Woburn-based company used by Mass Cultural Council.
MassHousing states takehome vehicles cannot be for personal use and any tickets must be paid by the employee.
“Any discourteous or rude conduct will not be tolerated while operating an agency vehicle,” the policy states, and all the Toyotas have GPS trackers installed.