Novato adopts new plan for greener vehicle fleet
Novato advanced a new strategy this week to more expeditiously replace its older, gas-guzzling vehicles with low- emission models while also saving an estimated $250,000 in the next decade, according to city staff.
Rather than buying the more fuel- efficient vehicles as it has done in the past, the city now intends to begin leasing more of them.
About 1,500 public agencies throughout the nation have adopted a similar strategy including the cities of Milpitas, Vallejo, Fresno and Redlands, according to Novato Public Works Administrator Kate Whan.
The city has 161 cars, trucks, police cars, trailers and other vehicles that have an average age of 12 years, with some as old as 20 years. Replacing these vehicles would lower existing repair costs, make the fleet more fuelefficient and help to meet statemandated cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, staff said.
“All of these benefits we want and we want to get there sooner than later and still afford it,” Whan told the City Council on Tuesday.
The city plans to use the leases
to eventually replace about 60 vehicles, mostly sedans, SUVs and light- duty trucks rather than heavyduty trucks and trailers, Whan said. Staff is reviewing which of these more industrial vehicles could be rented rather than replaced.
The strategy is expected to save the city $250,000 in the next decade, Whan said. Most of these savings, which Whan said was a conservative number, would be realized in the latter half of the decade as more older models are removed.
The City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve an agreement with Enterprise Fleet Management Inc., which will manage the leasing of new vehicles as well as selling and auctioning the city’s older models. The agreement does not come with an upfront cost, and future vehicle lease agreements will be considered as part of the city’s annual budget.
The city first intends to replace the police department’s 19 patrol vehicles, of which five are already hybrid models. Patrol cars typically have to be replaced every five years because they are driven farther and more frequently than other city vehicles. Under the new agreement, Enterprise will take responsibility for ordering and registering the new vehicles while auctioning off the older ones, saving staff time, according to Whan.
The vehicles will be secured under what’s known as an equity lease, which city staff said will provide more flexibility and savings. Under these types of leases, if a vehicle is valued higher at the end of the lease term than was anticipated when the lease was signed — such as if its mileage is lower than expected — then the city gets to keep those savings and can reinvest them into new leases. The city will also have the option of buying the leased vehicles.
Councilwoman Susan Wernick questioned what type of cost-benefit analysis had been performed on this new strategy.
“Definitely I understand the goal and objective of having more fuel- efficient vehicles,” Wernick said. “I also want to make sure that we can afford them.”
The city will not be mandated to lease a certain amount of vehicles each year under the agreement, Whan said.
“The tool does not commit us to a number of vehicles,” Whan said. “We commit every year which vehicles we want to put into the program.”
Novato recently declared a climate emergency last month and is drafting strategies to address its greenhouse gas emissions. Transportation makes up the largest source of the city’s total emissions at 58%, according to the latest data from 2018. Novato has a target of reducing emissions by 40% compared to 2005 levels by 2035. The latest greenhouse gas inventory showed the city reduced emissions by 24% by the end of 2018.
Novato has also committed to becoming diesel-free by 2033 as part of a regional initiative set up by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Mayor Pat Eklund said the city still has heavier equipment that requires diesel and it may be unlikely that technology will advance to fully replace diesel in the near future.
“We do have a climate emergency and looking at hybrid or electric vehicles is easier than really dealing with diesel vehicles,” Eklund said. “That’s where I think the cities can make the most impact.”