City says fleet needs $32M

Years of short-changing the city’s vehicle fleet translates to a need to pump $32 million into new cars and trucks, Colorado Springs city staff contends.

A recent study concluded that 1,026 of the city’s 1,939 vehicles — more than one for each of the city’s 1,770 general fund employees — need replacing, city staff said in a memo to City Council.

Officials say the fleet has aged from an average of 6.3 years in 2001 to 8.4 years in 2007 because the council has failed to allocate enough money annually to buy SUVs, dump trucks, snowplows and patrol cruisers.

While allocations averaged $2.6 million for 2006 and 2007, staff says $9.1 million a year is needed to keep the fleet’s average age at 7 years.

Fleet division manager Tom Monarco said the city is falling behind. As a result, maintenance costs for the general fund fleet have been running an extra $600,000 per year for the past four years.

He acknowledged, however, that some of the escalating cost can be blamed on soaring oil prices, which drive up the cost of fuel, oil and tires.

Today, the council is scheduled to discuss a $100,000 study of the municipal fleet. The study, by Mercury Associates Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md., is being withheld from the public until today.

Today’s briefing will focus on vehicles owned by tax-supported departments, such as police and parks, and won’t delve into Colorado Springs Utilities’ 1,800-vehicle fleet or those of the city’s other enterprises, such as golf courses and stormwater, which together own 601 vehicles, trailers and pieces of miscellaneous equipment.

On Tuesday, the council will consider a $4 million, seven-year payback lease/purchase proposal that would buy more vehicles for general fund departments in addition to this year’s $1.2 million allocation.

The report comes as the city begins the year with a budget that’s $6.5 million less than last year’s because of slumping sales tax revenues.

Councilman Jerry Heimlicher said he was skeptical of the $32 million figure.

“That $32 million is ideal where you have plenty of money and you only drive X number of miles a year,” he said. “We’ll never achieve that, and I don’t think we should achieve it.”

Heimlicher said the decision to replace a vehicle should be based on whether the city pays more to keep it on the road than a new vehicle costs.

“I’d rather drive them to the point where they’re still safe but not turn them over based on someone’s formula,” he said.

The formula the city has used for years plugs pickups, sedans and SUVs into the replacement pipeline when they reach 8 years of age or 80,000 miles, a standard judged within industry benchmarks by a $20,000 study done in 2001, Monarco said.

Patrol cars, of which there are 224, are replaced every three years or every 80,000 to 90,000 miles.

Other equipment and their replacement schedules: street sweepers, seven years; small dump trucks, 12 years; big dump trucks, 15 years; heavy equipment such as loaders and backhoes, 10 years; small snowplows, 10 to 12 years; big snowplows, 12 to 15 years.

But the rules aren’t hard and fast, Monarco said.

“When the city looks at a vehicle, we look at everything to determine if it needs to be replaced,” he said. “We’ll look at mileage. We’ll look at age. It’s just one criteria. Just because a vehicle has 100,000 miles on it, it may be in excellent shape.”

Monarco said he drives a 1995 Taurus with 80,000 miles on it.

The city begins the replacement process with the Fleet Division determining what’s due for replacement based on the consultant’s formula. The vehicles are then evaluated by mechanics to determine condition.

That’s followed by an economic analysis to compute a three-year maintenance cost for each vehicle, which includes parts and labor.

A final list is then compiled, showing which vehicles are in dire need of replacement.

“In 2008, the list of Priority 1 vehicles jumped to nearly $12 million,” internal support services director Ron Cousar said in a Dec. 27 memo to council.

Monarco said the city services each vehicle aggressively to extend its life, including providing oil changes every 3,500 to 4,000 miles and making routine brake-fluid changes.

“We do 8,000 to 9,000 PMs (preventive maintenance tasks) a year,” he said, many at night so vehicles can be used during daytime work hours.

The city has added 339 vehicles since 2001. It also increased its SUV fleet by 37 percent, from 103 to 141.

Meanwhile, Monarco’s staff, now at 48, expanded by only four people as the division, headquartered at 404 W. Fontanero St., added three new sites — the Gold Hill and Stetson Hills police substations and a location on South Hancock Avenue.

Fleet also has operations at the Falcon and Sand Creek police substations and the Police Operations Center downtown.

Monarco noted that the high replacement cost is driven in large part by the large pieces, such as snowplows equipped with sand spreaders and blades, which can run up to $180,000.

And he said vehicles are like anything else: You get what you pay for.

“It’s a funding issue, and we understand that,” he said. “It’s also a service issue to citizens of Colorado Springs, for police cars to be there when they call. The fleet is getting older, and it makes it difficult.

“We understand there are major budget issues the city has. We’ll do whatever we can to keep the vehicles running. It’s our job.”

DETAILS

The City Council on Tuesday will consider a $4 million, seven-year payback lease/purchase proposal to buy more vehicles for general fund departments.