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Council approves $1.45 million in federal forfeiture purchases for two specialized police vehicles
Summary
Chief Joe Grimes told the council the department will buy two specialty vehicles (a command/community vehicle and an investigation/mobile‑interview vehicle) using federal forfeiture funds; council approved signing two purchase requisitions totaling $1,450,459 with no special appropriation required.
Chief Joe Grimes told the council he seeks approval to sign two purchase requisitions for specialty vehicles procured through Sourcewell, funded by DAG federal forfeiture funds; he said the purchases will not require a special appropriation because the department has available forfeiture funds. Chief Grimes provided a total purchase figure of $1,450,459 and said there will be no payment until 30 days after completion and that build lead time is approximately 8–12 months.
Council members asked clarifying questions: what the "community command" vehicle is used for, whether the existing retrofitted RV would be traded in (the chief said he is trying to trade it in), and whether the vehicles include dedicated interview rooms and lighting/pole camera capabilities for on‑scene audio/video recording. The chief explained the two vehicles serve different operational roles (major command vs. investigative/mobile interview) and said having built‑for‑purpose vehicles improves on‑scene capability and preserves station manpower. A motion to approve the purchase requisitions was made, seconded and passed by voice vote.
The chief said he will budget the full amount in the federal forfeiture line for the 2027 budget as long as council approved signing the contracts. Council thanked the chief and asked follow‑up questions about deployment and community uses (parades, large events) for the community command vehicle.
