Elbert County approves two additional patrol vehicles for sheriff's office

Elbert County commissioners unanimously approved a lease-purchase to add two patrol vehicles to the sheriff's fleet, saying the purchase will replace the highest-mileage cars now in service.

Sheriff Norton told the board that his deputies put roughly "30 to 31,000 miles per vehicle on per year" on patrol units and that several vehicles already exceed the county replacement guideline of about 120,000 miles. "If we wait till the end of the year, you can add another 3 to 5 vehicles onto that list of over a 120,000 miles," Norton said.

The sheriff said General Motors contacted the department offering two vehicles when another agency backed out of a contract. He described frequent, high-cost repairs to older vehicles and said replacing the highest-mileage units would reduce the need for expensive engine or transmission work. Norton said the department plans to decommission and auction older units after the replacements arrive.

Finance director Tiffany Hermas told commissioners the sheriff's fleet purchases are made through the dedicated LEAF fund, which is funded primarily by citation revenue; she said the office has been using lease purchases for recent vehicles and that staff would follow up with specific lease-vs.-lease-purchase numbers.

Commissioners asked about timing and safety. Norton estimated outfitting would likely complete in the fall once the cars are delivered and said some older vehicles are at a safety and reliability risk because of frequent radiator and suspension failures on dirt roads. Public Works Director Monty Hankins confirmed the county maintains about 1,400 miles of roads, of which roughly 1,100 are dirt.

The board moved the item from discussion to action and then voted to approve the lease-purchase. The motion passed on a voice vote; commissioners recorded the motion as carried.