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Farmers Branch staff say fleet moving toward single manufacturer; council asks for conversion details
Summary
Deputy director Catherine Lee told the council the city is standardizing heavy equipment to Caterpillar; council requested the fleet conversion percentage and confirmation that in-house maintenance can support the change.
Deputy Director Catherine Lee of the City of Farmers Branch said the city is standardizing its heavy-equipment fleet and has been shifting from John Deere toward Caterpillar since about 2020. Council members raised questions about the reason for the change, how far the conversion has progressed and whether in-house staff can service the Caterpillar machines.
Lee said the policy is to standardize on a single manufacturer to simplify parts, training and maintenance. “CAT is the leader in heavy equipment. And so that's why we've been going towards that,” she said. A councilmember asked about the conversion percentage; Lee said she would provide that information later. Lee also said the city’s maintenance shop has been working on Caterpillar equipment and that one of the heavy-equipment technicians previously worked for Caterpillar and has relevant experience.
Council discussion focused on two practical questions: how much of the fleet already has been converted, and whether the city’s maintenance shop is prepared to handle the new equipment without outsourcing. Lee answered that the shop has been training on CAT equipment and that detailed conversion figures would be provided at the council’s request. No formal action or vote was taken; staff agreed to follow up with the requested figures and written confirmation of maintenance capability.
The exchange occurred during the study session review of consent and regular agenda items; councilmembers did not take a formal vote during this discussion. The councilmember who asked the initial questions was identified in the transcript only as a council member; direct quotations in this article are from Catherine Lee, who was identified in the meeting record as deputy director of finance, fleet and facilities.
Looking ahead, staff will return with the percent-complete figure for the equipment conversion and a brief memo on maintenance training and capacity so the council can consider any procurement or budget implications.
