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City fleet: 242 units meet all replacement criteria; administration budgets $10.6M for FY26 but backlog remains
Summary
Fleet Services Manager Liam Norton told the Budget and Finance Committee 242 vehicles met the city’s three replacement flags (age, mileage, life‑to‑date cost) and that the FY26 capital budget includes $10.6 million for fleet replacements, leaving an estimated remaining 127 high‑priority replacements with an estimated cost of about $17.5 million.
Fleet Services Manager Liam Norton told the committee the city manages roughly 2,600 active units and about 1,400 components (under $5,000) and has improved data systems that now track preventive maintenance compliance, utilization and life‑cycle flags.
Norton said the replacement decision uses three criteria — age, mileage and life‑to‑date cost — and that in April the city had 242 units meeting all three flags. Of those, 115 were on order or in procurement; 127 remained with an estimated replacement cost approaching $17,500,000. "As of April, of this year, we have 242 vehicles that meet all 3 replacement criteria," Norton said.
The recommended capital budget allocates $10,600,000 to fleet replacements in FY26 and $13,300,000 in FY27; the administration described $13.3 million as a planning floor for subsequent years. Budget Director Andrew Dudes said future allocations will be reassessed annually against the life‑cycle dashboard and procurement realities.
Committee members pressed on procurement lead times and staffing. Norton gave typical lead times: pickups and passenger vehicles 3–6 months; police vehicles 10–14 months; garbage packers up to 24 months; fire apparatus and medic units 24–36 months from purchase order. Assistant City Manager Kathy Bailey told the committee staffing, procurement delays and parts supply were part of the multi‑faceted problem and that the administration is addressing mechanics staffing, procurement processes and data integration with OPDA.
Public comment raised related audit concerns. Todd Zinsser, a West Price Hill resident, cited an internal audit he said identified more than 680 fleet parts out of lifecycle with replacement cost “over $82,000,000” and urged fixing audit findings before adding additional outside funding.
Ending: Committee members agreed the city has better data and visibility but remains behind on a long‑standing replacement backlog. Members requested more detailed counts and dollar estimates for units meeting two of three flags and encouraged exploring funding options and procurement timing to close the gap more rapidly.
