Community Justice proposes purchase of four marked vehicles; board to review funding and upfitting at budget session

Josephine County Community Justice presented a request to acquire four Ford Explorers intended to replace older vehicles and to permit required law-enforcement upfitting.

The county packet listed the vehicle purchases as part of the current fiscal-year budget. Staff said the vehicles are included in this year’s budget and expected delivery is near the fiscal-year break (approximately July 1 if ordered promptly). Upfitting includes law-enforcement or specialized equipment not present in the current Jeep Cherokees the unit uses; staff said the Cherokees cannot be upfitted to meet the program’s needs, which is a principal reason for shifting to Explorers.

Funding and operational context Community Justice staff described internal offsets that would cover most or all purchase costs. They said a combination of a voluntary separation program, an unfilled position and a staff reclassification would produce about $255,000 in personnel savings across the year; that sum was presented as more than sufficient to offset the vehicle purchase and upfitting costs. Staff said the four vehicles are accounted for in the current budget line.

Board process and next steps Commissioners discussed details of upfitting and financing but did not complete a formal purchase-order signing at the meeting. Staff and the board agreed to bring the request to the county’s budget-session (WBS) for a formal motion and approval; staff said they would be available to provide additional procurement and upfitting cost details at that session.

Numbers in the transcript were inconsistent in places; the packet lists a total of $162,000 for the four vehicles but the transcript contains a conflicting per-vehicle figure that is not internally consistent. The board directed staff to present clear purchase-order figures and upfitting cost breakdown at the WBS for formal authorization.