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Police urge replacement of vehicles, radios and AEDs; council weighs staggering and grants
Summary
Police presented a multi-part one-time package including patrol-vehicle replacements, new in-car computers, Stryker AEDs and a radio replacement plan that may require buying 54 radios next year; council questioned whether to stagger purchases or pursue grants.
Police staff presented a multi-year replacement plan and a near‑term one‑time request for patrol vehicles and equipment. The department said on-the-road patrol vehicles are aging and that two totaled vehicles required replacement; staff estimated the cost to replace patrol vehicles with equipment at roughly $173,000.
"The cost of purchasing new patrol vehicles with equipment is 173,000," one department speaker stated during the presentation. The chief emphasized the operational risk of continuing to delay replacements and argued the department had been trying to stagger renewals before pandemic-era pauses interrupted the rotation. On radio equipment, staff said the vendor notified jurisdictions that older radios are effectively deadlined and that the city may need to replace a large portion of the fleet (54 radios) in a single year if parts are no longer produced, a scenario staff said they are trying to mitigate with grants and phased purchases.
Council and public commenters urged staggered replacement where possible and asked the finance team to identify restricted funds or grant matches to offset costs. The council approved several restricted-fund police items separately and instructed the CFO to include consolidated impacts in the balanced budget packet.
