Brazos County’s Feb. 25 workshop covered several fleet items: replacement of patrol vehicles and trucks, a request to order a high number of vehicles as a hedge against price increases, and a proposal to centralize underutilized department vehicles in a managed pool.

Staff said vehicle prices have risen and certain patrol upfits (bullet‑resistant glass, push bumpers, specialized equipment) can push a fully equipped patrol vehicle to $90,000–$100,000. Fleet manager Ken (staff) recommended ordering additional units where lead times and pre‑ordering are involved (he recommended ordering five Tahoe patrol units), while commissioners asked about flexibility to reduce counts if necessary.

The court discussed a managed pool vehicle approach so departments that underutilize assigned vehicles would make those units available for shared use. Commissioners asked staff to work with risk management to draft a policy and to identify vehicles that could be placed in a pool. Several commissioners supported starting the project‑management group with a single replacement vehicle (an SUV) for now and evaluating a pool policy before further purchases.

Staff also requested fleet‑management software (Fleetio or similar) to track maintenance and integrate with Road & Bridge and facilities work orders. Commissioners said that software procurement should be coordinated by the IT governance group and could be funded from the software placeholder or contingency.

No final purchases were authorized during the workshop; the court approved including vehicle requests in the proposed budget in reduced or phased form and asked staff to return with a vehicle‑utilization policy and recommendations for pooling and standardization.