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Council signs off on higher‑cost police command‑vehicle upfits after vendor change
Summary
El Mirage council approved upfitting three command vehicles with Pride Upfitters after staff cited quality and warranty issues with the prior vendor. Council raised questions about a roughly $30,000 increase and a $5,700 tariff pass‑through; the motion passed 5–1.
The El Mirage City Council on Dec. 2 approved a contract to upfit three police command vehicles after staff told council they switched vendors because prior upfitter work did not meet the department’s standards.
Councilmember Aldridge asked why the new vendor’s quote was about $30,000 higher than a prior package, and whether equipment from vehicles being replaced could be reused. Staff explained the decision to move away from LSH resulted from defective installations and lengthy turnaround times; Pride Upfitters was selected for a higher‑quality, command‑unit build that includes more wiring and equipment than standard patrol builds.
Chief Marzocco and procurement staff explained that the vehicles in the current purchase differ in make/model from the earlier ones (Ford F‑150s versus Chevy Tahoes), limiting reuse of prior components. They also said global supply‑chain factors produced a tariff pass‑through of $5,700 on the quote. “We moved away from LSH because of those reasons,” a staff member said. “Pride Upfitters has a magnificent reputation.”
Councilmember Eldridge asked whether the tariff amount was itemized; staff said the vendor reports a pass‑through fee and that a precise per‑part breakout was effectively infeasible because many parts and harnesses are aggregated in the final build. Council approved item 6.1b (motion by Dorsey, second by Norton McDaniel); Mayor Hermosillo announced five ayes and one nay.
The motion authorized the upfit procurement and did not specify additional reporting or reprocurement steps. Staff said they would reuse any practical components where feasible and continue to standardize builds to ensure interchangeability across fleet units.
