In 1978 legislation was introduced in the general assembly designed to cut the state’s motor pool by 60 percent by January 1980. At the time, the UT system president and two assistants, system vice presidents, and campus chancellors and vice chancellors all had assigned UT cars, for which UT paid the motor pool $225 to $270 a month. In early 1979, in response to the legislation, UT President Boling cut the number of assigned cars to eight (a number which included his 1977 Oldsmobile) and transferred the monthly payment for the cars to the salaries of those administrators whose cars were discontinued. Four vice presidents, chancellors, and two assistants to Boling received a salary increase of $270 per month; vice chancellors received an increase of $225 per month.
Vice President Eli Fly explained that the additional payment was not a salary increase, but “payment in kind.” According to Fly, the Daily Beacon reported (January 16, 1979), “Before a state car was provided, it was considered an agreement, and if any part is now taken away, there should be some form of compensation.” Representative Riley Darnell (D-Clarksville) questioned the payment, saying that it would then be possible for the employees to be paid twice—once by the salary increase and again for mileage spent using their personal cars for UT business. The State Fiscal Review Committee deemed the salary compensation as “totally inappropriate” and recommended that the UT Board of Trustees roll back the salary compensations. Both houses of the legislature then voted unanimously to ask the UT Board of Trustees to roll back the increases. UT President Boling then rescinded the pay hikes, and the board of trustees approved the reissue of assigned cars to all but vice chancellors.
At the June 1979 board of trustees meeting, Governor Alexander asked Boling and the trustees to look into ways of forcing UT officials to reimburse the state if cars were used for personal business and added that persons should also be subject to discipline. In September 1979 Representative Darnell reported that Fiscal Review Committee staff had checked the expense accounts of UT officials who had turned in cars and had determined that two-thirds of the mileage on assigned state cars was for personal use—commuting to and from work. Vice President Eli Fly responded that commuting was a legitimate use of the cars. In 2008 UT President John Petersen, in reaction to calls for reductions in the cost of the UT system, required most administrators who reported directly to him to turn in their UT cars and take a 5 percent decrease in pay—the money from the decreased salary was added to the budget of the department.