Council committee advances fleet disposal and vehicle acquisition plan to full council

The Lancaster City Finance Committee on July 1 voted to forward Administration Resolution 48-20-25 to the full council. The resolution authorizes disposal by auction of six city vehicles, trade-in of 14 vehicles to acquire replacements, and rolling 11 vehicles into new leases as part of the city's fleet-management program.

Director Campbell presented a progress report on the city’s contract with Enterprise Fleet Management, which the city has used for about 14–16 months. Campbell said the contractor tracks vehicle equity and usage, and recommended replacements when equity is highest. Since starting the contract, the city’s managed fleet decreased from 251 to 239 vehicles. The program also recorded $362,000 in equity/trade-in value from the sale of 57 city vehicles and reported a per-mile cost reduction to about $0.44 per mile from roughly $0.56 the previous year.

Campbell told the committee the city sold one leased unit for $15,000—about 8% above industry value—returning about $3,152 to the city on that sale. He said telematics (Geotab) are in use across roughly 250 monitored units to track location, speed and aggressive driving; the program has allowed some fleet-sharing pilots at City Hall and may lead to further reductions in police bureau vehicles.

Councilors asked about the exhibit listing vehicle makes/models; Campbell said Exhibit A lists the specific units (auction list, trade-in group and lease-roll group). Members also clarified Enterprise manages the typical administrative fleet but not specialized equipment (e.g., dump trucks, sweepers, Gators); Enterprise will handle selling specialty units at auction if the city chooses to dispose of them. A member of the public asked whether vehicles could be transferred to local nonprofits; Campbell said the administration did not research that option for most units because many are specialized and transferring them outside a competitive process would increase administrative overhead.

Following discussion, a councilor moved to forward Resolution 48-20-25 to the full council; the committee recorded an affirmative voice vote. The resolution will appear on the full council agenda for final action, where committee members said Exhibit A (vehicle list) will be available for public review.