Subsequent to staff’s review of the City’s current fleet inventory conditions, the following has been identified:
- The existing fleet size consist of 125 vehicles excluding specialty equipment such as fire apparatuses, utility vac trucks, a bucket truck, a tandem dump truck, and a street sweeper.
- The average age of the existing fleet is 12 years old.
- The average mileage of the existing fleet is 72,518.
- The average annual maintenance cost of the past three (3) years is $1,206,990.
- The average annual fuel expenditure is $17,559.54.
- The average miles per gallon is 7 mpg.
- The average annual fleet maintenance cost is $402,330.
- The average annual fuel cost is $263,393.
- There are currently no electric (EV) or hybrid vehicles in the inventory.
When broken down into further detail the City’s utility fleet is newer with an average age of seven (7) years and 41,753 miles per vehicle versus general fund vehicles that have an average age of eight (8) years and 58,581 miles per vehicle.
In a November 13, 2019 Police Department inter-departmental memorandum from Lt. Anderson to Chief Bogart called out the following findings:
1. The majority of the Fleet Maintenance operating budget was spent on police vehicles.
2. The average age the inventoried Crown Victoria’s are approximately 14 years of age and have over 120,000 miles. This does not include idle time which in the case of patrol cars could result in over 200,000 total miles for the vehicles.
3. 10 patrol cars have been identified for immediate replacement.
4. Out of 50 active police vehicles, ranging from the 2005 Crown Victoria’s to 2012 Dodge Chargers the Police Department has expended approximately $667,830 in vehicle repairs since the date the vehicles were placed into service.
5. Since October of 2019 four (4) patrol vehicles have been decommissioned.
6. Four active Dodge Charges have over 100,000 miles on the odometer.
On a normal 10 hour shift, a patrol vehicle drives between 50 to 100 miles. During the same 10 hour shift, a patrol vehicle can idle for 3-5 hours, adding an additional 75 to 125 miles each patrol shift of additional wear and tear on the engine. While a private vehicle may average 10,000 to 15,000 miles a year, most police vehicles average three (3) times that much. In addition, operational demands placed on patrol vehicles are consistently more straining than those of a typical privately operated vehicle. Because of this, industry standards recommend for a four (4) to seven (7) years replacement cycle on these vehicles. Unfortunately, budget constraints facing agencies has doubled that industry recommendation. Up front capital expenditures for the purchase of replacement vehicles has made it virtually impossible to keep up with the cycle which is the case for the City.
In addition to the current inventory operation and maintenance conditions, the lack of modern safety features, fuel economy technology, and alternative fuel technology are minimal or non-existent within the City fleet. A 2019 United States Environmental Protection Agency Automotive Trends Report stated that “Preliminary data suggest further improvements in model year 2019. Average estimated real-world CO2 emissions are projected to fall 6 g/mi to 346 g/mi and fuel economy is projected to increase 0.4 mpg to 25.5 mpg.” The introduction of electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles into the City’s fleet would greatly reduce CO2’s and increase the current 10 miles to the gallon average and satisfy City Council’s directive to staff for a more environmentally friendly fleet.
The first cycle of inventory for fiscal year 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 includes 51 vehicles. This includes 17 Police Interceptors, four (4) electric vehicles, three (3) hybrids, and 27 various types of gasoline and diesel vehicles.