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El Mirage police highlight engine idle hours, maintenance costs in fleet replacement plan
Summary
Police officials told the council engine idle hours, not just driven miles, significantly increase vehicle wear; one patrol SUV logged 80,150 driven miles and 13,000 engine-idle hours, which staff converted to an equivalent of about 510,000 miles and three-year maintenance costs of roughly $21,900.
The El Mirage Police Department presented its fleet assessment during a July 1, 2025, work session, urging council to consider engine idle hours and specialized operational needs in vehicle replacement decisions.
The department’s presentation, led by the police presenter and introduced by Tim Mason, described a 64-vehicle police fleet that includes patrol cars, covert/unmarked vehicles, community outreach vehicles, specialty units (crime-scene and DUI vans), a jail van and trailers. The department said it has repurposed older cars for police assistants and uses alternative funding for some neighborhood enforcement vehicles.
Police staff argued that driven miles alone understate wear for law-enforcement vehicles because many incidents require prolonged engine idle time for public-safety reasons.…
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