County staff say $129,533.69 supplemental needed to complete 10 sheriff vehicles; commissioners give informal approval

Facilities and fleet management staff told the Arapahoe County Board of County Commissioners that 10 sheriff's office vehicles approved in the 2026 budget require scope changes and exceed the county's capital-asset policy cost-variance threshold, creating a $129,533.69 shortfall that must be covered before the vehicles can be ordered.

"We discovered that 42% of the vehicles approved in the budget process required scope changes to meet the sheriff's office business needs," the facilities lead said, adding that "we need the additional funding in the amount of specifically a $129,533.69 or a 130,000." The presentation described an effort to accelerate procurement because many vehicles are long-lead items that may require six to eight months for upfitting.

Staff said the county approved 68 vehicle replacements in the 2026 budget, roughly $5.25 million in total, and has already procured 46 of those vehicles. The ten vehicles in question, mainly because of added upfitting or different functional requirements, exceeded the per-asset variance the capital policy allows and therefore require board approval for supplemental funding.

Officials outlined steps to reduce repeat problems next year: standardized templates for patrol, canine and investigator vehicles, a physical equipment audit, updated asset-entry procedures and a proposed buyback policy to keep future vehicle accounting aligned with actual upfitting costs. "So we think we're focused on the future, and we're gonna do it better. We promise," the facilities director said.

Commissioners and staff also discussed how auction proceeds from retired vehicles are retained in Fund 70 to help offset future replacements and how the county now accounts for total asset cost (vehicle plus upfitting) to avoid underbudgeting.

After questions about timing and procurement, commissioners signaled informal approval by a thumbs-up consensus so staff can paper the supplemental in Q1 and move forward with ordering the long-lead items. The presentation did not record a formal vote; staff said finance already has the ten purchase requests in its approval queue.

What happens next: staff will submit the Q1 supplemental paperwork through finance to authorize the additional $129,533.69 and proceed with procurement and upfitting, with staff continuing to report progress to the board.