The Morgan Hill Police Department will purchase five new police cars to upgrade its aging 35-vehicle fleet which has seen a number of cars disabled due to equipment malfunctions in recent months.
The cost of the cars – four Ford Crown Victoria patrol cars and a Ford Taurus administration vehicle – is about $169,577, and includes about $38,000 worth of equipment, graphics and on-board computer systems and data networks to make the vehicles police-ready.
The city council unanimously approved the purchase at Wednesday’s council meeting.
The purchase was made to replace vehicles that are no longer operable, including two patrol cars – one with a dead transmission and one with a cracked engine head – as well as a vehicle used by the Volunteers In Policing program that recently suffered a broken transmission, according to a police department memo written by Capt. Jerry Neumayer.
Furthermore, a 2005 Taurus with 92,000 miles, the “captain’s car,” was scheduled to be replaced in the current fiscal year. Another Taurus was scheduled to be replaced the same year, but its mileage remains low enough for continued use and will remain in use for special operations.
The city will purchase the four Crown Victorias from Folsom Lake Ford for a cost of $22,418 each, before taxes and delivery. Those are the prices offered the city the last time it competitively bid government contract in September 2011, the last time the police purchased new cars, according to a city staff report. The cost includes a $500 “dealer discount.”
The 2012 Ford Taurus administration vehicle will be purchased from Ford Store Morgan Hill, for $23,352.
The cars are funded in the city’s vehicle replacement fund, which is funded by annual contributions from city departments that use city-owned vehicles, according to City Manager Ed Tewes.
