Council approves five patrol Tahoes, upfitting and a five‑year taser contract

City Council on Oct. 6 approved several public‑safety procurements included in the FY25–26 budget.

Vehicles and upfitting: Police Chief Gee Foxall requested purchase of five Chevrolet Tahoes from Holiday Chevrolet in the amount of $249,474.75 to replace patrol vehicles that had exceeded 100,000 hard miles. Council also authorized a purchase order to Defender Supply for $167,229.25 to provide lights, cages and other upfitting under the Tarrant County cooperative contract. Chief Foxall told the council the typical vehicle delivery and upfitting timeline is several months; the department expects the vehicles to be in service within about a year subject to vendor timelines.

Taser contract and training platform: The council approved a five‑year contract with Axon Enterprise Inc. totaling $555,549.20 to replace expiring taser support and equipment. The first‑year cost is approximately $110,009.25 (budgeted). Chief Foxall said Axon’s package includes hardware, holsters and a virtual‑reality training platform that will be used for scenario training for recruits and officers; the department issues tasers to sworn officers and detention staff.

Council discussion included questions about delivery timing and whether the purchase meets cooperative procurement rules; staff confirmed compliance with interlocal/cooperative purchasing policies and that items were budgeted. Motion(s) to approve the vehicle purchase, upfitting and the Axon contract passed.

Next steps: staff will issue purchase orders, track delivery and report back on timing; taser replacement and training rollout will follow vendor schedules.