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County staff outline motor‑pool cost model after recorder asked for assigned vehicle
Summary
Mohave County Recorder requested an assigned department vehicle; public works staff explained fleet accounting (vehicle-use fee, maintenance/mileage charge, and replacement allocation) and estimated higher costs for assigned vehicles than motor‑pool use.
The Mohave County Recorder asked the board on April 16 to consider assigning a departmental vehicle for voter-registration and recording outreach. County fleet staff described the current motor-pool pricing model and provided a cost comparison that the recorder’s office said it had not previously measured in detail.
Recorder’s request and context The Recorder requested a vehicle to support voter‑registration outreach, satellite-office support and in‑community work tied to voter rolls and recording functions. The recorder said the office has relied on motor-pool vehicles and, at times, personal vehicles for travel and that outreach and new-development site visits can require reliable transportation.
Fleet cost explanation Public‑works fleet staff explained that currently departments pay a vehicle-use allocation composed of a monthly fixed fee plus a per-mile operation/maintenance rate, and a separate monthly vehicle‑replacement allocation to fund future replacement. Fleet staff gave the following figures during discussion as the structure used to price assignment vs motor‑pool use: - Operation and maintenance: approximately $0.40 per mile (covers fuel, routine and heavy maintenance, repairs). - Fixed monthly charge for operations: about $275 per month. - Replacement allocation (vehicle-replacement fund): roughly $400 per month for a typical passenger vehicle (varies by vehicle type).
Using those assumptions, staff said an assigned vehicle driven about 12,000 miles per year could cost on the order of $12,000–$13,000 annually (operation/maintenance + replacement allocation + fixed fee); staff contrasted that number with a quoted motor-pool cost for a trip to Phoenix that was discussed during the meeting and flagged the $600 per‑trip figure for further internal review. County staff said motor‑pool use generally costs less for intermittent travel while an assigned vehicle becomes more economical only after persistent, heavy use.
Board and staff follow-up Board members asked staff to verify the cited per-trip and per‑year figures and to provide a written comparison of motor‑pool versus assigned-vehicle total cost by department. Manager Alters said county finance and fleet staff would return with precise calculations and that the motor-pool remains available for current needs.
Ending note: For now, the recorder’s request was noted and staff will return with a more detailed cost comparison to advise whether an assigned vehicle is warranted.
