Committee endorses electric-first fleet policy, directs staff to seek council adoption

The Mountain View Climate Sustainability Committee on a unanimous vote recommended that the City Council adopt a greenhouse-gas-free ("electric-first") purchasing policy that would make electric vehicles and electric landscaping equipment the default for city purchases when the equipment is commercially available, meets operational needs and is financially feasible.

The measure, presented by Sustainability Division staff, directs departments to assume electric options unless an exemption is justified. Sustainability staff said municipal fleet and equipment represent about one-third of city operations emissions and that a formal policy would help coordinate purchases, budget changes and charging infrastructure planning across departments.

Sustainability Division staff member Ms. Lynn said, "A greenhouse gas free or electric-first purchasing policy is one tool that can advance decarbonization in the vehicle and equipment sector," and explained the policywould require electric purchases if the equipment is commercially available, meets operational needs, is financially feasible, and charging can be provided in a reasonable period.

Why it matters: staff estimates the near-term (2025to2030) cost to electrify light-duty vehicles at about $5.5 million; that estimate excludes EV charging infrastructure costs and federal incentives. Staff said three primary city vehicle domiciles (City Hall, the municipal operations center and the shoreline maintenance center) would need about 29 charging ports by 2030 and about 113 ports over the longer course of the fleet transition, with an approximate installation cost of $4,000,000 and potential additional electrical upgrades at some sites. Staff also listed federal and utility support they are pursuing: Inflation Reduction Act direct-pay incentives (estimated in staff materials at $7,500 per light-duty vehicle and $40,000 for some larger vehicles), Pacific Gas & Electric(PG&E) EV Fleets program (staff estimated roughly $200,000 value based on comparable cities) and potential California Energy Commission grant support via a vendor program called BetterFleet.

Operational context and pilots: the committee heard that the police department is piloting patrol-rated electric vehicles, the Community Services Department has converted roughly half of its handheld landscaping equipment to electric and is testing electric ride-on mowers, and the city is leasing four electric community shuttles and has a federal grant to acquire additional electric shuttles. Parks and open-space manager Tim Youngberg said the parks division uses a range of electric handheld tools and that some smaller satellite storage buildings allow battery charging for those devices.

Department concerns: Allison Boyer, assistant public works director, cautioned that expanding an electric fleet also creates maintenance and shop-equipment requirements. "There is a maintenance infrastructure side that our current mechanic area would not meet code and regulation for maintaining an electric fleet," Boyer said, noting potential capital costs and the need to consider contract arrangements for repairs and servicing during transition.

Public comment: longtime resident Bruce Kearney urged staff to watch fuel-supply and fast-charging technology developments, noting recent refinery closures and emerging rapid-charging claims from overseas manufacturers. Resident Hala Alshawani, who has driven EVs for more than a decade, spoke in support and said EVs have lower maintenance needs.

Committee action and next steps: Committee member [moved motion] moved to recommend the draft policy for City Council adoption; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Staff said it will return the policy to council for adoption and continue work on infrastructure funding requests and grant applications.

Ending: The policy formalizes an already-implemented trend across departments and is intended to align departmental purchasing, budgeting and infrastructure planning to accelerate electrification where feasible while preserving department-level exemptions for specialty equipment (for example, certain heavy-duty emergency vehicles that staff said are not yet feasible to replace).