The Nogales City Council voted to require GPS tracking on the city fleet and asked staff to prepare a revised vehicle‑use policy combining the city's prior rules with a model template used by other public entities.

Why it matters: Council members raised concerns about unassigned vehicles, idling and fuel costs, and whether vehicles designated for mayor, city manager or directors have explicit approval and budget lines. Staff said current records show some vehicles are not assigned to specific drivers and that fleet reports can show mileage, idling and location once GPS is installed.

The council agreed to install GPS devices and to have staff bring a single consolidated policy back for review and possible adoption. City staff said the fleet program currently costs about $30,000 annually; staff estimated a GPS installation cost around $250 per vehicle and said they would identify which vehicles still lack tracking and what the incremental cost would be.

Council discussion also addressed a red pickup that had been used by the mayor. Council members asked staff to locate any prior council vote or written amendment that specifically assigned a vehicle to the mayor or shifted vehicle budget lines; staff said the credit‑card provision for a mayor had been approved previously but that it had not located an explicit vote transferring the vehicle budget. The council agreed to maintain the existing, known policy until staff locates any prior amendment and then to return the consolidated policy for a future vote.

A separate procedural motion to make a council vehicle available on request — by scheduling with fleet and picking up the vehicle at City Hall — was discussed as a practical interim approach while staff completes a policy revision. Staff said some city vehicles (police and fire) are handled under department rules and that the white truck and red truck under discussion had been purchased for management roles (assistant city manager and city manager, respectively) but are currently in the municipal fleet.

Action taken: Council voted in favor of installing GPS on fleet vehicles and asked staff to bring back a consolidated vehicle‑use policy; staff will also search records for any prior council decision assigning the mayor's truck and present that evidence at the next meeting.