Director Toph told commissioners the county's fleet averages about 15 years of age with some vehicles as old as 30 years, and he laid out the financial strain of repairs and partial insurance recoveries. "I paid $65,000 for that truck, and I paid $36,000 for the tank... I got $35,000 back from our insurance," Toph said, noting that insurance payments do not replace vehicles and leave budget shortfalls.

Toph said a new heavy truck can be costly and that to maintain a 15-year average the county would need to acquire roughly four trucks per year at an estimated annual cost of about $1.3 million — a level the current budget cannot support. He asked commissioners to consider the trade-offs of the county's self-insurance approach and suggested a focused discussion to clarify which repairs are functional versus cosmetic before approving replacements.

The director presented examples of repair quotes (one advertised diagnostic/repair quote near $30,000) and urged commissioners to think about whether departments should be treated more like insured entities with defined premiums and coverage rather than the current self-funded approach. He said some repairs will be done in-house to reduce costs but that software diagnostics and certain specialized work must be farmed out and are expensive.

Toph said he will bring forward proposals as part of the FY27 budget process and that commissioners and staff should evaluate capital-account treatment for truck replacements to avoid repeated emergencies.