Pittsburgh Councilman Ricky Burgess today proposed reforms to the city's process of assigning take-home cars, aiming to cut the number of such vehicles from 60 to as few as seven.

He presented a list of employees from the mayor to the facilities maintenance supervisor who take Chevy Impalas, Dodge Intrepids, Ford Explorers and other vehicles to their home driveways each night.

"Some of the people on the list were not necessarily on call 24 hours," he said. If cars are sometimes just perks, he suggested, they should be reassigned. "We have a shortage of police vehicles. We need to put the emphasis on public safety first."

The legislation would deem the mayor, directors of public safety and public works, and chiefs of police, fire, building inspection and Emergency Medical Services as automatically eligible for 24-hour vehicles.

Other employees would use their personal vehicles and be reimbursed for mileage at the rate set by the Internal Revenue Service. If an employee was found to be using his personal vehicle to drive more than 1,200 miles per month on city business, he would be eligible for a take-home vehicle. The director of finance would be able to assign vehicles for "special situations, emergencies or events" as warranted.

Mr. Burgess said the city now assigns the vehicles based on past practice rather than any objective policy.

A tentative vote on the proposal could occur on March 5. Mr. Burgess said he has not spoken with Mayor Luke Ravenstahl about the proposal.

Council members do not get take-home vehicles but can get as much as $150 per month in reimbursement for use of their personal cars, and that would not change under the legislation, Mr. Burgess said.