City auditor, CFO review recent vehicle purchases; committee files report

City officials brought a report listing municipal vehicles acquired from July 1, 2021, through Nov. 30, 2024, and described how the purchases were funded.

Robert Stearns, city auditor, said the city’s new asset register (Workday) tracks acquisitions and that the list shows vehicle types and department-level detail. He flagged a one-time, large procurement of more than 100 buses purchased with ESSER education grants as a major reason the total number for the period is high. “The list I have here on pages 2 and 3 is just a summary of the types of vehicles,” Stearns said. He noted other departments’ vehicle purchases are recorded in the back of the register with specific makes and models.

Chief Financial Officer Timothy McGurthy described the procurement mix: “Most of the vehicles were acquired by bonds, some were acquired through general fund, maybe through the free cash, all sorts of grant. I think there were 2 fire engines acquired through a HUD, community development block grants. And, the school bus is acquired through ESSER.” McGurthy added this 2024 bus purchase is an outlier that will not recur annually and that inspectional services historically used personal vehicles and are now being provided municipal vehicles.

Councillors asked about counts (a discrepancy between 456 and 459 was discussed as purchases versus leases), insurance (the city is self‑insured except school buses, which carry insurance), and electric vehicle availability. A sustainability staff review is part of the acquisition routing; staff noted large specialty vehicles such as fire trucks are not available as electric at scale currently and may take longer to procure.

The committee voted to file the informational communication.