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Finance committee advances $3.3M fleet purchase to council, defers airport hangar funding
Summary
The committee voted to bifurcate a budget amendment and send a $3.3 million request for fleet vehicle purchases to County Council, preferring outright purchase of 36 vehicles (including ambulances and specialty vans). Airport hangar vertical construction funding was deferred for further study and financing discussion.
Beaufort County staff asked the Finance, Administration and Economic Development Committee on Oct. 28 to amend the 2024–25 budget ordinance to use general‑fund balance for several capital needs, including fleet vehicle replacements and airport hangar construction.
County staff recommended a $3.2 million transfer from the general fund for fleet services to replace 36 vehicles; after discussion the committee amended the request to $3.3 million and voted to bifurcate the ordinance so the fleet request could move to County Council immediately while airport hangar funding was deferred for further consideration.
John Robinson, assistant county administrator, presented three options to finance the vehicle replacements: (1) purchase all 36 vehicles outright from fund balance (staff preference), (2) lease nine specialized vehicles and purchase the balance, or (3) a hybrid using a combination of fund balance and deferred facilities equipment purchases. Robinson and fleet staff noted most vehicles listed are replacements (an example: an ambulance replacement for a 2016 model with ~232,000 miles) and that the county now performs in‑house fleet maintenance.
Committee members asked about lead times and scale: Todd Davis, fleet services manager (present with staff), was cited as saying ambulance lead times can be roughly 18 months. Robinson and members discussed resale/auction of retired assets and confirmed the county fleet totals roughly 1,283 assets so the 36 vehicles represent a material slice of a multi‑year replacement cycle.
On the airport hangar component, staff and airport officials reported total project costs (site work plus vertical construction) near $7.1 million, with site work already funded and $4.303 million needed for hangar vertical construction. Officials said hangars are in high demand with dozens on a waiting list and projected the full funding option would generate the largest annual revenue to the airport; others on the committee expressed concern about using general‑fund balance for an enterprise fund project. The hangar funding discussion was deferred pending additional structuring options, with committee members suggesting hybrid approaches and structured loans as alternatives.
The committee voted to send the amended fleet purchase request ($3.3M, option 1 preferred by staff) to County Council; the hangar portion was removed from the ordinance pending further review.
