EDGECOMBE SHERIFF’S OFFICE SEEKS TO REPLACE HIGH-MILEAGE VEHICLES

The Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office operates a vehicle fleet that includes about 90 vehicles, with 64 of them in almost daily service.

The fleet, which includes a mixture of automobiles, SUVs, pickup trucks, and vans, is utilized in a variety of ways on paved, gravel, and dirt roads as well as off-road.

According to NCDOT Engineering Supervisor Wayne Wooten, there are 874 road miles in Edgecombe County, which includes all primary and secondary roads as well as most subdivisions in the county.

While police will see the occasional state police vehicle on a roadway in the county, the primary responsibility belongs to the sheriff’s office, and it is 24/7/365 in all types of weather.

The sheriff’s office uses that fleet to cover the county’s 507 square miles.

Chief Deputy Gene Harrell said 71 of the 90 vehicles have more than 100,000 miles, while another 31 have more than 150,000 miles.

He told the Telegram that, ideally, any vehicle with more than 100,000 miles would be a candidate for replacement.

“For a patrol vehicle, you need to start looking at replacing them between 75,000 and 100,000 miles,” he said.

At its Feb. 7 meeting, the Edgecombe County Board of Commissioners was provided with a report that detailed the vehicles by model, mileage, and fleet assignment.

When asked if he wanted to comment on the report, Sheriff Clee Atkinson said he did not, but as the annual budget cycle approaches, consideration of the purchase of new vehicles has to be a discussion point.

In 2018, commissioners decided it was prudent to borrow $600,000 to purchase new vehicles and negotiated a loan with Providence Bank.

Harrell said the agency got 16 Chargers, two Ford Explorers, and one Chevrolet Silverado pickup. He said that same year, the agency bought four surplus Chevrolet Tahoes for K-9 service.

“We have just about paid that loan off,” County Manager Eric Evans said. “Each year since (2018), we have carried the debt service on that loan and purchased a few additional vehicles.”

On top of that, the county allocates $250,000 per year for vehicles.

Harrell said an equipped-and-ready-to-run Dodge Charger costs between $30,000 and $35,000, but that the vehicle tends to have problems with its cooling system.

That becomes a problem because deputies are instructed to leave their vehicles running if they are out of the passenger compartment for a relatively short time. That’s to protect the computer equipment that’s always on and to eliminate the need to start up the vehicle over and over.

“If they’re eating or inside someplace or home, they kill the engine,” Harrell said.

Harrell, who will retire in December, said he prefers the Tahoes.

“They’ve got more room for the gear and they hold up a lot better than the Chargers,” he said. “But the SUVs cost $60,000 to $70,000 each.”

Harrell said the Dodge Charger becomes the vehicle of choice because “they’re the cheapest.”

“If it was up to me and I had the money, I’d buy all Tahoes,” he said. “They hold up better.”

And when a vehicle starts having issues, the maintenance costs add up.

“Since July 1, we’ve spent $77,582 on maintenance at the three garages we use,” Harrell said. “That’s maintenance only … oil, engines, and repairs.”

Harrell said tires — which are replaced every 25,000 to 30,000 miles — are purchased from a separate source.

Twenty-six vehicles have had suspension issues — at about $1,000 each — while radiator and water pump issues lead to regular overheating problems with the Chargers.

“We’d like to be able to replace a few more vehicles (than the 23 in 2018),” he said. “We had a representative from Enterprise (Fleet Leasing) make a presentation to the commissioners in 2018, but they didn’t want to lease.”

Evans said financing is a more cost-effective approach than leasing over the long term.

“We did an analysis comparing pay-as-we-go replacement of cars, financing, and leasing,” he said. “Of course, our preference would be to pay as we go, but we were not able to do a one-time purchase for as many vehicles as the sheriff needed.”

Harrell said he had been talking to a neighboring department that had recently opted to go with the Enterprise program and had gotten 20 vehicles for “a little over $120,000.”

“Those vehicles are ready to go … equipped,” he said. “They got Chargers, Durangos, and pickups. If we could get 20 vehicles for that, that means we could upgrade 80 vehicles in four years.”

Harrell also pointed out that the Enterprise lease includes unlimited mileage and all major maintenance costs.

“If we could just keep our marked vehicles on a solid rotation every four years, we’d be good,” he said. “If (commissioners) would lease instead of financing, we could come close to replacing our entire fleet for the same money.”

Pictured:

Some of the agency’s 20 spare vehicles shown in the parking lot.

Detective Sgt. L. Shaw, who handles crimes scene investigations, work arrange his loaded trunk so he can access needed items.

Rocky Mount Telegram