King County Council members have decided to simplify the way they get reimbursed for gas money following an exclusive KIRO Team 7 Investigation.

COUNCIL'S GAS POLICY See The Original Team 7 Investigation Video: County Uses Formula Based On Weight Of Car

In May, we first exposed how council members got extra cash for driving large, fuel inefficient cars. We also caught them failing to keep documentation of tens of thousands of business miles. Because of our investigation, Investigative Reporter Chris Halsne has confirmed the King County Council has now altered the rules.

An environmentally unfriendly fuel reimbursement policy has been killed off for good. Under the old system, King County council members were financially penalized for driving compact cars getting just 14.5 cents a mile. Gas money for an SUV paid more than twice as much; 31 cents. Looking at public records, KIRO Team 7 Investigators found big-vehicle driving council member Pete Von Reichbauer collected about 686 dollars every month. Council members Larry Phillips and Steve Hammond were lose behind.

After seeing our investigation, taxpayers like Gordon Alberti, of Issaquah, complained loudly about the special perk to their reps. He told KIRO-TV “This is just one example of tons of stuff going on down there. I see red every time I think about it.”

In response to public outcry, King County implemented a new flat rate of 40.5 cents per mile for everybody. Although it appears to cost more, it probably won't. A vehicle depreciation payment has been eliminated. KIRO Team 7 Investigators figure, taxpayers might save about 20 percent overall.

Council representative Frank Abe says, “In some ways this is a lot less expensive than issuing them a public owned vehicle. That presents all sorts of other problems, like if they want to stop at the grocery store, you can't in a public vehicle.”

One thing that will remain controversial; The county is still allowing council members to guesstimate their mileage at the beginning of the year. They don't have to keep documentation like other county employees. There is however a new 10 percent "penalty" for using this process. Council members will still have the option of tracking actual miles. That would not include a penalty.

Some taxpayers, like Gordon Alberti, will wait to see if it really saves money before getting too excited. He says “If you’re going to guesstimate, then it’s back to square one.”

According to Abe, King County council members recently submitted "readjusted" mileage plans. We checked and most are now claiming they are driving significantly fewer miles than in years past.