Cop-Car Upgrades Stalled

Alders halted for now a push to replace more of the police force’s crumbling and rotting cruisers, saying they want a chance first to quiz the police chief in person.

The request to replace the cruisers is part of a broader request from the Harp administration to release the remaining $2.4 million of $5 million budgeted this year for purchasing vehicles under a master lease agreement.

The Board of Alders Finance Committee heard from city officials — but not the police chief — about the matter at a hearing in City Hall Monday night. Then they voted unanimously to keep open a public hearing rather than approve or disapprove the request and send it along to the full board for a final vote. That means officials need to return in a month to try again.

The pitch for the funds came from Chief Administrative Officer Mike Carter and City Controller Daryl Jones, who have been working on a cost- effective plan for not only replacing the city’s aging fleet, but also getting a handle on how many vehicles actually belong to the city. It’s a question that both men told alders has been a hard one to answer given that prior to Mayor Toni Harp’s administration such information was not being tracked.

“We have horror stories from when we came on board of having to go to New York to pick up one of our vehicles,” Jones said. ​“It’s an overall challenge to track down every single vehicle.”

If the alders ultimately approve the agreement the city would purchase about 39 vehicles that would got to nine different departments. Additional purchases would be made under a new master lease agreement that would be part of the 2016 – 2017 budget that would go into effect July 1. Jones said after a certain period of time defined by the master lease agreement, the vehicles belong to the city.

The police department stands to benefit most from the agreement, which would allow for the purchase of 12 Dodge Chargers at a total cost of about $492,000.

The police union filed a state grievance over the condition of their cruisers, some of which are so old that there are holes in the seats and floors and have failing electrical systems.

Annex Alder Alphonse Paolillo Jr. asked officials at the hearing how the police department made previous decisions to purchase vehicles for assistant police chiefs and supervisors while rank and file patrol officers rode around in clunkers. He also asked why the police department has not made a bigger issue of its fleet in previous budget seasons, particularly when it came to the money it asks for in the capital fund for replacing ​“rolling stock.”

“Can’t you see how we would be concerned that purchases were made and they didn’t go to the greatest need?” Paolillo said. ​“From a budgetary perspective, we’re allocating money to need, and when it’s not expended that way, do you see where the concern comes in?”

Paolillo told Carter and Jones he didn’t need them to answer that question, or really anyone else who came to testify Monday. He wanted answers from Police Chief Dean Esserman, who was not at the meeting.

Superintendent of Police Motor Vehicles Tim Hatch, who keeps the police fleet on the road with just four staff mechanics, said he has been sounding the alarm about the state of the fleet for years, particularly advocating for fleet renewal plan and more money for purchasing replacement stock. He said when he took those concerns up the chain of command his advice was rebuffed.

“I was told by a certain assistant chief who is still with us that it was his prerogative to assign vehicles,” Hatch recalled. ​“I warned him that there would be ramifications from the rank and file, and he said that he didn’t care.”

The mayor’s proposed budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 would add $150,000 to the $300,000 annual cruiser-buying capital budget. A new master lease agreement would be funded out of the general fund, according to Jones.

Morris Cove Alder Sal DeCola asked officials for assurances that the rank and file would not be passed over for new vehicles should alders ultimately approve the agreement. ​“That will not happen again, will it,” DeCola said.

Carter said the new vehicles will be assigned based on data and greatest need first.