News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Algood City Council voted Tuesday night to purchase two additional Ford Explorers and a pickup truck this year to avoid the price hike expected at Ford in 2024.
City Administrator Keith Morrison said the price will increase by at least $10,000 per vehicle in 2024. Morrison said the city has ordered two explorers for the police department and two pickups for the public works and parks departments already in 2023. The three additional vehicles will cause a budget amendment, but Morrison said the money saved makes this the right move.
“I know Chief has already been working to try to secure some of those vehicles in case this goes through,” Morrison said. “We don’t have to take them, but if you all decide to purchase additional vehicles, we do think we can get them and we anticipate that this could save quite a bit of money depending on how many we get.”
The council voted to limit the total price to less than $150,000. Algood Police Chief Dale Armour said each 2023 Ford Explorer, outfitted with police lights and markings, cost some $43,000. Morrison said that number isn’t typically the final price the city pays because they often trade vehicles in to mitigate that cost.
This vehicle purchase will replace the scheduled 2024 purchase.
“We would just cycle them in early, so instead of doing two in and two out, we would do four in and four out, and next year, we would not order 24s, we would hold out to see what 25’s is,” Morrison said.
Morrison said several of the current police cars are currently getting high in mileage, so extra early replacement would also alleviate potential issues with vehicles currently in use by the department. Armour said that delays caused by workers’ strikes and COVID-19 make the process of getting the cars on the ground a longer process. Ordering the vehicles a year in advance could keep the process on a tighter schedule.
