El Mirage reviews citywide vehicle replacement program; council asked to confirm benchmarks

El Mirage held a work session Tuesday, July 1, 2025, to review the city’s vehicle replacement procedures and ask the council for policy direction on how replacements should be prioritized and funded.

Public Works presenter Nick Russo told the council the program’s goals are safety, dependability and cost effectiveness and described a mix of qualitative and quantitative criteria staff uses to recommend replacements. “First and foremost is safety,” Russo said, adding that recommendations combine service-life judgments, departmental mission needs and a usage-based depreciation formula tied to miles driven.

The presentation matters because the city manages roughly 70 vehicles and pieces of equipment—excluding police and fire—and replacements drive capital planning and budget requests. Russo said the Fleet Division keeps maintenance and preventative records that inform replacement timing, but that recommendations are flexible and must return to council for purchase approval.

Russo said the city uses two baseline…