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Central Garage: equipment purchases planned, electric vehicle investments on hold as fleet ages
Summary
Central Garage Superintendent Dave Thurber told the Senate Transportation Committee that equipment costs and supply delays have increased fleet age; the office plans a $9 million equipment purchase program for FY26, but electric vehicle pilots funded from carbon-reduction monies are paused pending suitable equipment and infrastructure.
Dave Thurber, superintendent of the AOT Central Garage, told the Senate Transportation Committee the central garage’s FY26 equipment plan includes $9 million for purchases, with roughly $7 million earmarked for dump trucks and $6.7 million reflected as fleet depreciation. He said supply-chain timing has extended truck replacement cycles and that some vehicle categories are older than AOT’s target rotation.
Thurber described a roughly 4 percent increase in parts and equipment costs from FY25 to FY26 and said manufacturers’ production constraints have limited chassis and heavy-equipment availability. “The dump trucks will chew up about $7,000,000 of that,” Thurber said, and noted the agency keeps dump trucks about eight years when possible but now experiences longer rotations because new vehicles are delayed.
The central garage has approximately $9 million planned for equipment purchases in FY26; Thurber said the plan included 27 plow trucks but he would like to return to buying 30 per year to restore an eight-year rotation. He warned a fully aggressive purchasing plan would overspend the equipment fund by an estimated $2.6 million unless additional funding or adjustments are made.
On electrification, Thurber said the central garage has procured small electric machines (a mini excavator and a small wheel loader) and has chargers installed at some locations, but heavier medium- and heavy-duty electric equipment remains limited in availability and suitability for Vermont snow operations. An earlier $1.1 million allocation intended for electric purchases is effectively on pause because, Thurber said, manufacturers do not yet offer medium‑duty equipment that meets AOT’s operational needs. Michelle Boomhower, AOT director, confirmed the agency and CFO are evaluating CRP allocations and noted some CRP infrastructure uses are also under consideration.
Thurber provided lifecycle data on vehicles, reported heavier recent maintenance costs for older trucks and explained the central garage’s auction and surplus-sales process that funds a portion of equipment replacements. Committee members asked for verification of fleet-age dashboard numbers for single-axle and tandem-axle dump trucks; Thurber agreed to provide a verified report with updated counts and replacement plans.
Ending: The committee did not enact any budget action at the hearing. Members asked the central garage to return with verified fleet inventory and a revised equipment purchase plan showing realistic acquisitions given supply constraints and funding limits.
