New Police Cars Cut Costs

By Dawn Marks, The Daily Oklahoman

Jan. 28–WARR ACRES — For the first time since 1996, Warr Acres police officers are driving new cars.

The department put the last of its seven new patrol units on the street Thursday, and Police Chief Roger Patty said he expects the new cars will cut the department’s maintenance budget by half.

“Our vehicle maintenance costs were just killing us,” Patty said.

The city will pay $143,000 over three years through a lease-purchase agreement for the 2006 Ford Crown Victorias, Patty said.

Funds will come from proceeds of the city’s half-cent capital improvement tax that residents approved in May.

Since 1996, the city has purchased two used cars a year for about $25,000, usually from the Missouri Highway Patrol.

Because those cars had more than 50,000 miles, Patty said he typically spent $40,000 a year fixing problems. The seven cars that the city will now rotate out of the fleet all have between 125,000 and 145,000 miles.

Although the used cars served the department well, the newer cars will probably cut maintenance costs to about $20,000. The cars likely will last longer than the used cars, Patty said.

“The majority of my fleet will be under warranty the next three years,” he said.

Officers started driving the first of the new cars about three weeks ago, and they installed the equipment themselves and saved the department about $12,000, Patty said.

The chief said he wants to start replacing the seven older cars the department still has in its inventory a few at a time after the recently purchased cars are paid off.

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