Seven Austin Energy employees used city trucks like personal commuter cars, and it was not a cheap perk. A new City auditor’s report released Wednesday says the employees drove city-owned vehicles between home and work, racking up roughly $37,300 in costs to taxpayers.
GPS records show some of those trips stretched beyond Austin city limits, and investigators found that trucks were sometimes parked at employees’ homes for extended periods, unavailable for city work. The review covered trips from July 2023 through July 2024.
What the audit found
The report names seven Austin Energy workers: Stephen Tucker, Landry Bertsch, Alan Shuffield, Richard Warren, Kalel Edwards, Marcus Riojas, and Logan Dodd. Together, they logged about 56,200 miles of commuting that auditors say were not for city business.
Investigators relied on GPS data to flag trips that did not appear to be work-related. In one case, a city vehicle was parked at an employee’s home for nearly 250 consecutive hours, effectively taking the truck out of service for about 10 days. All seven employees admitted driving the vehicles home, and some told investigators they were following a supervisor’s direction, according to KVUE.
Past audits and Austin Energy’s response
This is not the first time the city’s watchdog has raised concerns about take-home vehicles at the utility. A 2025 investigation by the Office of the City Auditor also documented unauthorized use of Austin Energy vehicles.
That earlier probe shows Austin Energy put a moratorium on take-home vehicles in place on August 5, 2024, while the department reviewed which positions actually need assigned trucks.
Austin Energy spokesperson Matt Mitchell said the utility has reviewed the latest findings and "will take the appropriate next steps in line with City policy," in a statement to KVUE. He added that Austin Energy will closely monitor take-home vehicle use going forward to ensure compliance and responsible use of public resources.
Legal implications
The auditor concluded the seven employees violated City Code §2-7-62(J), which prohibits misuse of City resources, and recommended that Austin Energy management consider personnel action.
The specific code citation and the investigative standards used in the case are detailed in earlier reports from the Office of the City Auditor.
Why it matters in South Austin
Many of the employees flagged in the report work in Austin Energy’s Electric System Field Operations, which primarily runs out of the St. Elmo Service Center in South Austin.
City project files for the St. Elmo Vehicle Bays effort describe ongoing plans to better house and manage Austin Energy’s fleet, which officials say should reduce vehicle downtime and improve oversight. Those details appear in project materials from the Electric Utility Commission.
For now, all seven employees remain on the Austin Energy payroll while the utility follows city policy to decide whether any disciplinary steps are warranted. The case is the latest in a series of internal reviews that have pushed Austin Energy to tighten controls over vehicles, billing practices and vendor relationships in recent years.
