Commission considers a dedicated fleet fund or departmental charge model to avoid sudden vehicle‑replacement costs

City fleet staff laid out a multi‑year plan for replacing vehicles and equipment, saying a formalized reserve would reduce surprise spending and high repair bills.

The fleet manager explained the city maintains 329 assets with varying useful lives and that using industry standard inflation and life‑cycle assumptions produced a present shortfall estimate of roughly $10.0–10.5 million to cover past underfunding. Staff illustrated how an annual 'payment' per asset (for example, about $122,851 next‑year payment for 13 police interceptors) aggregates across departments and recommended forming a fund or changing departmental budgets to include a recurring replacement charge.

Two primary approaches were discussed: • Departmental 'rental' model (Lakeland example): departments budget a recurrent line‑item charge that covers replacement costs; responsibility for each asset becomes part of departmental budgeting. Staff warned this could cause noticeable line‑item increases next fiscal year. • Dedicated reserve / millage allocation (Ormond Beach example): set aside a fixed amount each year before general fund dollars are allocated, insulating departments from annual spikes but requiring a policy decision on how the allocation is established and maintained.

Commissioners debated accountability versus predictability. Some said a millage or dedicated allocation reassures taxpayers and prevents 'robbing Peter to pay Paul.' Others favored departmental responsibility to preserve incentives to care for assets. Several commissioners recommended phasing any catch‑up over multiple years rather than pulling the entire amount from reserves at once.

No formal action was taken; staff were directed to model phased options (including a 3‑year build) and return with concrete dollar proposals and the projected operating‑budget impact for each department.