Residents question $4.7 million fleet replacement request; commissioners leave record open for 10 days

Department of Finance and Budget staff presented a budget amendment on Feb. 24 requesting roughly $4.76 million from prior-year fund balance to replace 31 aging non-police, non-public-safety vehicles and asked the board to leave the record open for 10 days while the county collects public comment.

Mary Andes, deputy director of budget, explained the amendment would allocate $4,604,000 to establish a new capital project for strategic fleet replacement and $160,000 to create an enterprise project to manage the initiative. "This amendment is our strategic correction to that, requesting the funding for these 31 vehicles," Andes told the board. Staff said the purchases would be funded through fund balance and that including the purchases in the county’s CIP provides transparency for tracking even though the expenses are operating in nature.

During public comment, Joseph Cormier said the board was prioritizing mid-cycle adjustments over budget process transparency and urged that the replacements be handled through the general budget cycle. "If there is no actively deadline vehicle that creates a critical service to the taxpayers, I urge you to do this through the general budget cycle," Cormier said. Commissioners asked whether outfitting costs were included; staff confirmed the purchase estimates include trucks and all snow-equipment outfitting. Public Works Director Jared Cosgrove said many of the vehicles are used for snow removal and heavy service; he cited a dump truck that entered a failure mode during the recent storm and said some vehicles have very high mileage and spend more time in the shop than on the road.

After discussion, a commissioner moved and the board approved leaving the hearing record open for 10 days pursuant to Local Government Article §9-105; staff will return after that waiting period to request the record be closed and the resolution adopted.