$4.5M Fire Truck, Police SUV Plan OK’d

The Board of Alders unanimously signed off on the Elicker Administration’s plan to spend $4.5 million in federal pandemic-relief aid on new police cars, fire trucks, and fire hydrant fixes.

Local legislators took that vote Monday night during the latest regular biweekly meeting of the full Board of Alders. The meeting took place in person in the Aldermanic Chamber on the second floor of City Hall.

Alders unanimously approved the city’s plan to use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to acquire eight police SUVs for a total of $400,000, as well as two fire engines and one fire truck for a total of $3.7 million.

The now-approved spending plan also budgets $400,000 for fixing as many of New Haven’s approximately 100 defunct fire hydrants as possible.

City leaders have argued that using one-time federal pandemic relief for public safety vehicle upgrades, rather than using bonds to fund those purchases, will save money in the long term. 

As Police Chief Karl Jacobson and Fire Chief John Alston presented to alders at a recent Finance Committee meeting, the city is currently planning to purchase gas-powered vehicles. The police department has specifically budgeted for SUVs, either the Dodge Durango Pursuit or the Ford Interceptor, as both Ford and Dodge have phased out their sedan police cars. 

Finance Committee alders had pressed Jacobson and Alston on the possibility of purchasing at least one electric vehicle — likely a police car slated to be used by a district manager — in order to minimize air pollution and carbon emissions. (Read more about the arguments for and against transitioning to electric public safety vehicles with the ARPA funding here.)

Ultimately, per the alders’ authorization Monday night, the city is not required to use this chunk of ARPA funding to purchase electric vehicles.

Finance Committee Chair and Westville Alder Adam Marchand reported to his colleagues before Monday’s vote that ​“city staff agreed to explore the possibility of purchasing one or two electric vehicles” in a separate conversation. 

After the meeting, Marchand noted that some of his colleagues held concerns about the potential safety risks of electric vehicles in context of police and fire operations, in light of a workshop on lithium battery fires that the alders’ Public Safety Committee held last month. He said that fire and police staff have agreed to conduct further research on the safety and logistics of electric public safety vehicles, and that they will present their findings to the Public Safety Committee.

Monday’s vote comes as the alders have already signed off on spending $53 million in ARPA aid on a mix of housing, vocational technical education, youth engagement, business support, and climate resiliency initiatives, and an additional $43 million on everything from police department surveillance cameras to expanded youth employment programs to a new Department of Community Resilience to budget mitigation efforts for funds lost during the height of the pandemic. The alders are also currently considering a $3 million plan to fund a new math and literacy tutoring program designed to help up to 1,500 public school students catch up on learning loss during the pandemic.