SERVICE IN A JIFFY

Municipal fleet vehicles are traditionally serviced at the village garage or maintenance facility. Every municipal car, truck, fire engine, police car and other special fleet vehicle is normally scheduled for a broad range of vehicle maintenance procedures throughout the year.

But municipal facilities can be costly, high-overhead centers best designed for major services like tune-ups and engine overhauls. They involve expensive mechanics and technicians, costly shop allocations, full-day down-time for vehicles, and vehicle drop-off and pickup time for users. Governmental maintenance facilities can become very expensive and time consuming for simple maintenance procedures like oil changes.

In recent years, many municipal fleet employees have begun using quick lubes and other convenient automotive centers for their personal cars. They benefit from fast service and no vehicle down time. This positive experience has led many municipal fleet superintendents to consider contracted service for their public vehicles. They are finding that quick lubes and other contracted services can provide superior speed, convenience and lower maintenance cost to the municipal fleet.

In the greater Chicago area, a number of municipal, state and federal fleets have begun to use Jiffy Lube for oil change and fluid maintenance service. Today, five governmental units with nearly 2,000 vehicles now obtain service from this company.

The Village of Skokie provides an excellent example, according to its Automotive Superintendent, Ron Lino. This 33-year municipal veteran recalls a 1990 consulting study pointing to heavy workloads and pending staff additions at its Gross Point Road vehicle maintenance facility. The consultants recommended contracting certain vehicle services outside.

Skokie conducted a "quick lube pilot program" with police department vehicles, found it successful and let contracts for full village utilization. Jiffy Lube won the annual contract to provide 14-point oil change and fluid maintenance service for all municipal vehicles at its Golf Road facility in Skokie. That contract provides a fleet discount on basic Jiffy Lube service featuring a percentage discount off the monthly bill. It covers:

• 40 police vehicles including patrol cars and prisoner vans

• 10 fire department vehicles, including vans, pickup trucks and chiefs cars

• 50 public works vehicles including inspector sedans, pick-up trucks, step vans and light dump trucks

• 15 motor pool vehicles for village hall worker sign out

• 12 building department vehicles including inspector sedans and station wagons

• 6 health department vehicles including visiting nurse sedans, environmental officer cars and animal warden pick-up trucks with caps.

Ron Lino then devised an impressive ABCD service procedure that combines Jiffy Lube with the Skokie municipal maintenance facility. Each vehicle receives some scheduled service every 3,000 miles in a 12-scheduled-service rotation.

"A" service is basic maintenance like oil change, filter, lubrication, fluid checks and tire checks — all at the Skokie Jiffy Lube. "B," "C" and "D" services are increasingly comprehensive regimens: brakes, tune-ups, transmission work, engine overhauls, lights, sirens and more — all performed at the municipal garage.

Lino set a schedule of:

First service = A at Jiffy Lube
Second service = A at Jiffy Lube
Third service = B at the Skokie municipal garage
Fourth service = A at Jiffy Lube
Fifth service = A at Jiffy Lube
Sixth service = C at the Skokie municipal garage
Seventh service = A at Jiffy Lube
Eighth service = A at Jiffy Lube
Ninth service = B at the Skokie municipal garage
Tenth service = A at Jiffy Lube
Eleventh service = A at Jiffy Lube
Twelfth service = D at the Skokie municipal garage

All municipal vehicles have a fleet ID # and a monthly preventive maintenance schedule. Both drivers and the Jiffy Lube store manager know authorized service times. Most drivers visit the Jiffy Lube during slack periods, mid-days, Mondays through Fridays. Certain police and fire vehicles may receive weekend service.

Municipal employees drive in, have oil change service, sign the invoice and drive out — all in less than 15 minutes. Jiffy Lube also inspects the vehicle and notes any additional maintenance that is needed, including wiper blades, headlights, transmission fluid, fan belts, tires and more. The manager writes these recommendations on the invoice to alert the Skokie municipal garage to work needed. Jiffy Lube does not perform these services but helps Skokie plan for them, says Lino.

October 1993 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 21

"We're very pleased with the arrangement," notes Lino. "It helps us maintain our vehicles, speeds service, keeps our fleets on the road, and reduces vehicle and personnel down time. It also reduces overall maintenance costs.

"I was very skeptical at the beginning," he continues. "These vehicles are my kids — I'm responsible for them — and I was afraid to let them out of the system. However, driver reaction has been good, and these otherwise harsh critics have never reported any problems with this contracted service."

Lino monitors quality by bringing his own municipal vehicle to the Skokie Jiffy Lube, where he reports good service and polite employees. This contracted auto service arrangement has worked very well for the Village of Skokie, providing "service in a jiffy" to the 133-vehicle municipal fleet. •

ILLINOIS RURAL BOND BANK NAMES EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Tim Bobinsky, a vice president at Harris Trust and Savings Bank in Chicago, has been selected as the new Executive Director of the Illinois Rural Bond Bank.

"The Rural Bond Bank provides invaluable financial opportunities to rural communities in need of important infrastructure improvements," said Lieutenant Governor Bob Kustra, who chairs the Rural Bond Bank. "Tim's vast experience in public finance and government banking will be a great asset to rural Illinois."

Bobinsky has been Vice President of Tax Exemption Institutions at Harris Trust and Savings Bank in Chicago since 1991. He was local government program director at the Illinois Development Finance Authority from 1989 to 1991. He previously served as a municipal credit analyst and investment banker at Continental Bank in Chicago, where he worked from 1980 to 1989.

The Rural Bond Bank provides low-cost financing to local governments for basic infrastructure improvements. By pooling bond issues for an improved interest rate, the Rural Bond Bank assists local officials in financing local improvement projects for water systems, sewerage systems, school buildings, streets and roads, and other public buildings and facilities.

The Rural Bond Bank has completed six pooled bond issues totaling more than $28 million to date, saving more than $2 million for local governments.

Bobinsky, 43, is a graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, and holds a master's degree from the University of Illinois. He and his wife, Rhea, have two children. They will reside in Springfield. •

Page 22 / Illinois Municipal Review / October 1993