Warrant Article Would Purchase New Police Cruiser Ahead of Schedule

Saves on maintenance by retiring old vehicles

February 19, 2014 • Saved under Town Meeting
By Andover Board of Selectmen

Presently, the Andover Police Department has four vehicles:

  • a 2013 Ford SUV
  • a cruiser purchased in 2008
  • a Suburban purchased used four years ago to be used only when a four-wheel-drive vehicle was needed
  • an older cruiser used for construction detail work only and which is currently in need of repair

If we get rid of the oldest cruiser, we also get rid of the repairs. The Suburban is no longer needed, as we just purchased an all-wheel-drive SUV.

If we replace those two old vehicles with a new cruiser this year, we will have two new vehicles for patrol, and the 2008 cruiser for construction detail work. This reduces our maintenance budget and gives us reliable vehicles for our officers.

The Current Plan

The established every-eight-years police cruiser replacement plan has the Town buying the next new cruiser in 2016. The estimated cost of a new cruiser is $27,000. Since we just purchased a new cruiser in 2013, we have zero dollars saved and would need to put aside $13,500 in 2014 and 2015 to make the purchase in 2016.

Additionally, we are budgeting $6,500 for repairs for the police cars in 2014, so for 2014 the net cost is $20,000 per year for the cruisers.

A Better Plan

The Board suggests that instead, we buy a new police car in 2014, replacing the oldest police car and just retire the Suburban without replacing it. We can then reduce the maintenance budget to $3,500 for the next three years.

A bank loan of $25,000 would be used to buy the cruiser, and the yearly payments will be about $5,000. An additional $7,500 will make a total of $12,500 to be added to the Police Cruiser Capital Reserve Fund.

Add the $12,500 to the $3,500 for maintenance and you have a net cost of $16,000 per year for the cruisers.

Summary: Option 1

This is the option based on the usual every-eight-year plan.

  • Purchase new cruiser in 2016
  • Raise $13,500 in 2014 and 2015
  • Annual maintenance budget: $6,500 for older cars
  • Net annual cost: $20,000
  • No savings toward next purchase

Summary: Option 2

This is the new option that the Selectmen recommend.

  • Purchase new cruiser in 2014
  • Pay off loan in five years
  • Raise $12,500 annually for next five years
  • Maintenance budget: $3,500 for new cars
  • Net annual cost: $16,000
  • $37,500 in savings toward next purchase