International Trucks

Overworked police cruisers, out-of-commission dump trucks and nearly 20-year-old trash haulers are some of the 95 vehicles being replaced in the City of Frederick’s fiscal 2009 proposed budget.

Accounting for more than one-quarter of the city’s 351 vehicles, the replacements come after a period of time the city has neglected to maintain a consistent vehicle replacement program.

“Because of tight budgets … equipment and vehicles are the easy things to cut,” Mayor Jeff Holtzinger said.

Holtzinger, who is floating an $88.1 million budget proposal, said he had been anticipating a significant vehicle replacement program for a year and a half. The city is also budgeting an additional mechanic.

Cash reserves will allow the city to pay one lump sum of $3.3 million for the vehicles, according to the city’s finance department.

Holtzinger said he wants this to be the start of consistent vehicle replacement schedule based on specific criteria, something he said he remembers the city never doing.

“It’s not good to get in the middle of a budget year and have a frame break on a dump truck,” Holtzinger said.

For example, police cruisers would be replaced after 100,000 miles or five years of service, but each vehicle would be considered on a case-by-case basis, he said.

The police department could get 59 new vehicles or more than half of their fleet of 110.

Police Chief Kim Dine said the number of vehicles the department is requesting could vary and would be rolled out on city streets during the next budget year.

“Different types of budgetary constraints … I guess in some ways had an impact on a way to regularly engage in a more organized replacement program,” Dine said.

Patrol cars will be replaced with newer models of the Chevrolet Impala, a vehicle the department shifted to a few years ago because it had front-wheel drive, a lower price and was more suitable for city streets, he said.

Other vehicles to be replaced under the proposed plan include two trash trucks at $200,000 each, a 55-foot bucket truck at $175,000, a street sweeper for $170,000 and a $15,000 beverage cart for the city golf course.

The city’s replacement schedule would be similar to one implemented by Frederick County about six years ago. Replacement of light and heavy vehicles were brought under the same management.

The county last year cycled 88 older vehicles out of their fleet of 652 cars and trucks on a replacement schedule, said Patrick Hannah, director of fleet service for Frederick County.

The program allows the county to get a higher resale price on the vehicles it gets rid of.

“You don’t want to run a vehicle into the ground in this kind of service,” Hannah said.