Police present $1.6 million FY2021 vehicle need; commission weighs discretionary fund balance

Captain Andrew Clark, assigned to administrative services at the West Palm Beach Police Department, told the City Commission on July 7 that the department projects roughly $1.6 million in vehicle needs for fiscal 2021 to cover 19 replacement vehicles, 10 additions tied to planned staff increases and one community-service aide (CSA) vehicle.

Clark said the department’s in-service fleet totals about 372 vehicles — 173 marked, 117 unmarked and 82 specialty vehicles — and that collective-bargaining replacement criteria (8 years or 140,000 miles for marked vehicles) drives a steady replacement schedule. Clark said the department uses the state contract for vehicle purchases and contracts with a vendor for police-specific build-outs; he gave a per-vehicle build-out cost of $14,621 and said the total new-vehicle cost staff used in planning was about $57,002 per new addition and roughly $52,000 for a replacement when some equipment is reused.

“First, we purchase the vehicle through the state contract… then we had to build the vehicle out,” Clark said, explaining the procurement and build process and noting that modern patrol vehicles include radios, routers and other equipment that add materially to cost. Clark warned that lead time is long: “It takes approximately 12 to 14 months from time you submit a purchase order to the time a vehicle goes into service.”

Staff said losses this year include six total-loss vehicles that together had an estimated replacement cost of about $313,000; risk-management reimbursements recover only a fraction of replacement cost. Jose Luis (staff member) told commissioners the city had not yet received reimbursement in that matter and added that any recovered amounts “is gonna be very minimal.”

Clark and Sergeant Ray Shaw (logistics supervisor) outlined options to limit short-term expense: temporarily converting an older vehicle into a CSA vehicle for roughly $2,000, reutilizing radios and other equipment when replacing vehicles, and phasing purchases across fiscal years. Clark said the department plans to add 10 vehicles in FY21, 15 in FY22 and five in FY23 tied to grant-funded officer positions coming online across those years.

Commissioners asked about insurance reimbursement levels and whether increasing premiums could raise replacement recoveries; Administrator Johnson said she would research the insurance-coverage question and cautioned commissioners not to decide now how to use discretionary fund balance because year-end overtime and other pressures might require those funds. President Peduzzi raised take-home versus hot-seated vehicle usage and questioned whether hybrid or electric vehicles had been considered; Clark and Sergeant Shaw said the department had tested hybrid models but that higher upfront repair or replacement costs and expensive battery repairs made hybrids less cost-effective for patrol roles at present.

Clark and Sergeant Shaw emphasized procurement realities: state contract pricing, dealer build-out schedules and the national construction/equipment market affect final costs. Historical budget context presented by staff showed a $5.3 million allocation in early 2018 for fleet management, carryover dollars in 2019 ($3.2 million) and smaller 2020 additions (debt service and a 2020 resolution for $615,000). Staff credited in-house fleet management changes with roughly $500,000 per year in savings since the department assumed maintenance and fueling responsibilities.

No formal vote or ordinance was recorded in the transcript; commissioners discussed using discretionary unassigned fund balance to meet a portion of FY2021 vehicle needs but heard guidance from staff to wait until year-end budget numbers are finalized before committing those funds.