During the county budget review, staff said the vehicle budget includes $150,000 for vehicles, described plans to equip two newly marked units and outlined recurring equipment turnover and IT-access problems for patrol staff.
The discussion matters because vehicle and equipment replacement schedules and IT access affect daily patrol operations and long-term maintenance funding needs.
“We generally, supplies and materials, basically, the same? Okay. So you've got 150,000 budget for vehicles,” Speaker 8 asked during the review. Staff later said two additional marked units from the 2425 budget “just came in” and will need equipment.
Staff described lifecycle and supply issues: vests are rotated out and typically expire every five years, and department hiring can leave new but unused equipment in inventory when employees leave. “We always got vest rotating in and out... they expire every 5 years,” Speaker 6 said. The staff also said sedans have been phased out and are difficult to obtain: “they've got rid of sedans. You can't get those.”
IT-access issues were raised: one staff member said they have no access to a change server and that many people in the building, including some in the police department, do not have access. “No. We haven't I don't we've never had any changes. Change servers or something, and we have no access to that,” Speaker 6 said.
Staff did not move a formal motion on vehicle purchases in the transcript excerpt; the remarks focused on explaining budgeted amounts and operational constraints.