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Saline County approves purchase of three marked patrol SUVs after competitive bids
Summary
The Saline County Board of Commissioners approved buying three police‑package SUVs for the sheriff's office after receiving two qualified bids. The commission voted 4–1 to authorize the purchase from KCOM/Newberry Family Auto at $161,656.56 (including trade‑ins).
The Saline County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 21 approved the sheriff's office request to purchase three marked police‑package SUVs to replace older patrol vehicles.
Captain Jim Hughes of the Saline County Sheriff’s Office told the commission the office solicited competitive bids and received two qualified responses. KCOM (with vehicles provided by Newberry Family Auto) offered the lowest net price with trades at $161,656.56 for the three upfitted Ford/Dodge police‑package SUVs; LaMacArthur Ford submitted a higher bid of $176,397 with trades. Hughes said Newberry Family Auto expects about a three‑month delivery window after authorization and that KCOM anticipates two to three weeks of upfitting time per vehicle after receiving each vehicle.
The purchase will replace patrol SUVs that the sheriff’s office said would have more than 127,000 miles on them at delivery. Hughes described the department's usual replacement rhythm as roughly every three years because vehicles often reach about 150,000 miles and begin to require major repairs such as transmission work. He said trade‑in values for the current vehicles are about $5,000 each.
Commissioners questioned the timing and number of replacements. One commissioner asked why the replacements could not be delayed several months; county staff explained that police‑package vehicles often must be preordered for the new model year and that ordering now avoids taking whatever is available on lots later. Commissioners also asked whether the fleet was being fully utilized; Hughes said recent field‑training rotations had reduced miles on some vehicles but that newly trained officers would increase vehicle use and mileage again.
County staff told commissioners the commission had preliminarily budgeted $201,300 for the purchase; if the purchase is approved, the account balance would be about $39,643.44 remaining based on expenditures to date.
After discussion, the commission voted 4–1 to approve the recommended purchase from KCOM/Newberry Family Auto for $161,656.56 including trade‑ins. Motion passed 4–1.
