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Martinsville board approves lease of six 2025 Ford police utility vehicles
Summary
The Board of Works approved leasing six 2025 Ford police utility vehicles to replace aging patrol units, with trade-ins and retained vehicles used as reserves; staff said the move reduces maintenance costs and improves officer safety.
The Martinsville Board of Works on July 14 approved a request to lease six 2025 Ford police utility vehicles to replace aging patrol units and improve reliability, safety and readiness. City staff said the plan includes trading in four 2022 Dodge Durangos and retaining five 2022 Durangos for reserve and pool use.
The proposal was presented by Chief Lane, who described recurring mechanical problems with the department’s 2022 Durangos and said fleet maintenance expenses had exceeded budget the prior year. “Known mechanical issues with the ’20 22 Durango’s have caused excessive downtime, costly repairs,” Chief Lane said. Mr. Meredith briefed the board on the finances, saying an early buyout saved about $105,000 and left $193,000 in the account set aside for police vehicles.
The city proposed the lease to hold current dealer pricing and secure vehicles in stock and fully upfitted; staff said upfitting will be coordinated directly with the vendor’s upfitter to avoid additional cost and delay. Meredith told the board paying a short lease interest now is preferable to layering bond and lease interest later: “So it's gonna save us a lot of money doing it this way.”
A motion to approve the purchase/lease and the proposed trade-ins was made and seconded and carried after members voted in favor. The board asked staff to proceed with the lease paperwork and to use the saved funds plus budgeted amounts to begin moving toward a cash-based vehicle replacement strategy.
The board’s action authorizes the lease and the trade-ins; no additional policy change was adopted at the meeting. Staff said full financial close-out will occur as documents are completed and reported back to the board.
More details on vendor, lease term, and exact financing schedule were not specified during the meeting and will be provided when staff returns with final procurement paperwork.
