Council trims police vehicle CIP by $38,500 after chief warns removing frontline cruisers would be risky

The Rochester City Council amended the police department’s FY26 capital-improvement request, voting to reduce the cash request by $38,500 after hearing from Police Chief (title used in meeting) about fleet needs.

Councilors debated removing a backline vehicle and its outfitting costs. The chief said last year’s plan reallocated an existing vehicle to support parking enforcement and the requested backline vehicle would backfill that unit; he warned that removing frontline cruisers would lead to high-mileage vehicles remaining in frontline duty and rising maintenance costs.

After discussion, Councilor Richardson moved to reduce the police CIP request by $38,500 — removing the backline vehicle cost but keeping the equipment-outfitting line — which would change the FY26 police vehicle cash request from $320,000 to $281,500. The amendment passed on roll-call vote, 8–3. Supporters said the change preserved critical equipment outlays while trimming a nonessential replacement; opponents argued that the department’s staffing and vehicle turnover made the backline vehicle preferable.

The chief testified that backline vehicles typically last many years with low mileage but that repurposing frontline cruisers into backline units had historically increased maintenance costs. Councilors pressed the chief on whether retired frontline vehicles could be repurposed and on the cost to outfit repurposed units; the chief said outfitting would roughly match the $16,000 equipment package discussed earlier.

The council directed staff to update the CIP numbers to reflect the approved amendment.