Selectmen Talk Mileage Reimbursement

The Wrentham selectmen discussed, at their meeting last week, increasing the mileage reimbursement rate for town employees.

Town Administrator William Ketcham said he and the town clerk had conducted a survey of surrounding towns.

"There was no community we could find that pays less than the town of Wrentham pays for mileage," he said. "There was no community we could find that pays less than 10 cents more than the town of Wrentham."

According to Ketcham, the town's rate of 31 cents a mile is substantially lower than the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rate of 50 cents a mile.

"The few people who do use their own vehicle, I feel, are being extremely undercompensated," he said. "I would strongly recommend to the board that we do what other towns do — adopt the IRS rate."

Selectmen asked whether it would be more economical to buy a vehicle for town hall use instead. Board Chairman Joseph Botaish expressed concern over town employees using old police vehicles, as such vehicles often undergo more wear and tear.

"Would it be possible to look at what the cost would be to buy a small truck for the building department, and possibly a Ford Fusion or Focus for the town hall departments?" he said. "If the vehicles aren't 100 percent, and we're asking people to drive them, that's a problem."