Arapahoe County sheriff asks to retain 15 surplus vehicles; seeks small budget tweak for emergency-management post

Arapahoe County sheriff's office leaders told county commissioners they found roughly two dozen vehicles that had not been sent to auction and asked permission to retain 15 older vehicles for spare, pool and training use while they finish an office-wide asset cleanup.

Captain Adam Burson said the review turned up "about 22, 23 cars that were not sent to auction, which is a lot," and that he pared the list to 15 vehicles he believed the agency should keep. Burson described three categories: spare vehicles for units whose assigned cars are temporarily out of service (examples: negotiator, bomb squad, K9, SWAT); pool cars for occasional use by detention or operations staff; and training vehicles — including four lower-cost motorcycles — used to reduce damage to frontline equipment.

"So what we're really asking for is to be allowed to keep 15 cars," Burson said, adding the county should complete the cleanup and inventory reconciliation by about November.

County staff said the identified vehicles total about $101,000. Burson told the board that funding would come from a mix of Centennial funding and other internal budget line items (the presentation referred to the secondary source as "alia"); staff told commissioners they would provide exact accounting and a supplemental budget action tied into Q3 if the board approves retaining the vehicles.

The sheriff's office also flagged a separate, smaller budget issue: a federal Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) that covered part of one emergency-management position has been frozen. Burson said continuing the split position with Littleton for the final quarter of the year would require roughly $16,740; county finance staff said the recommended budget includes funding for the position starting next year and that a supplemental could move funds to reconcile the final-quarter costs.

Commissioners pressed staff on vehicle condition, equipment stripping, mileage and accounting for auction revenue. Burson said many vehicles still have lights and markings, some lack built-in radios, and the sheriff's office has been coordinating with fleet and facilities to document each vehicle's status. Commissioners and staff agreed that a countywide vehicle-retention policy and a one-time physical audit would reduce future errors.

What happens next: staff from the sheriff's office, fleet/facilities and finance will meet to develop a recommended policy, reconcile asset records and, if appropriate, draft a supplemental Q3 budget item for the board to consider. The board did not take a final formal roll-call vote on the vehicle-retention request during the study session; commissioners asked staff to return with a recommendation and supporting accounting details.