Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Fleet Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Moses Lake fleet manager outlines savings from new processes, defends in-house striping capability
Summary
Fleet Manager Joey Kliffner described software, maintenance, and procurement changes that reduced costs and improved efficiency. Council members probed the long-term strategy for an expensive road striping truck and whether work should be outsourced; staff cited bidding laws and low annual use as constraints.
Joey Kliffner, Moses Lake's fleet manager, told the council the fleet division has adopted shop-management software, a data-driven maintenance program, and two vehicle-pool programs that staff say have reduced costs and improved utilization.
"Twenty months ago I asked my staff to view every task through the eyes of the taxpayers," Kliffner said, summarizing operational changes that staff said produced tangible savings: a restructured vehicle-equipment replacement plan with extended retention cycles, a reported 48% reduction in bulk-fluid expenses, fuel savings rising from about 4'per gallon to nearly 7'per gallon, and lower costs from switching to automatic car-wash plans (about $2 saved per wash on the city's program).
Council members focused substantial attention on a high-cost line-striping vehicle the city owns. Staff said the machine is expensive to replace, sees limited annual use (about 30 days a year), and requires substantial set-up, priming and post-use cleanup that typically involves two technicians for five to seven business days. Fleet staff said the truck currently performs well because of careful maintenance.
On whether the city should subcontract striping, Kliffner presented a rough cost comparison: prevailing contractor rates for striping are about $90 per hour, while average in-house staff wages are around $36'to'40; staff estimated that, accounting for paint coverage (one gallon yields about 233 feet), in-house work could be accomplished for materially less than contractor rates in many cases. Staff also cautioned that procurement and state/local bidding laws complicate splitting parts of larger projects and may limit the city's ability to contract only the striping portion without bidding the full project.
Brad Bridal (staff member) told the council that bidding laws generally require bidding the entire project from start to finish and that those rules can reduce in-house efficiency.
No formal action was taken. Council members requested that staff continue to analyze costs and procurement constraints and report back if subcontracting or other changes could deliver net savings while complying with bidding rules.
Ending notes: Kliffner said the operational changes will continue through 2026 and that fleet intends to keep more repairs in-house where cost-effective.
