Council wants to buy police cars

Councilman apologizes for breakdowns

Lorain City Council members said they support buying new police cars for officers patrolling city streets.

But it likely will be at least a few weeks before the city can get any new Ford Taurus or Explorer police cruisers into the fleet.

On June 26, Lorain City Council’s Police, Fire & Legislative Committee voted 3-0 for the full Council to consider a play to spend $150,000 a year for new police vehicles.

Council could consider legislation as early as July 3 to meet a July 5 deadline for Lorain to buy new police cars through the state of Ohio purchasing plan for municipalities.

Committee Chairman Greg Argenti began the meeting with a public apology to the Lorain police officers who were on duty but faced delays responding to calls due to a “rash” of vehicle breakdowns.

Fraternal Order of Police Lorain Lodge No. 3 President Kyle Gelenius explained his concerns for officer safety and public safety when high-mileage

cruisers quit running when police are on the job.

Officers have been delayed responding to calls about a fight in progress, an unresponsive man, a domestic violence incident, a neighbor argument and other incidents, Gelenius said. When that happens, other officers respond to the calls, but take longer because they are coming from other parts of Lorain.

Per the union contract, the city must provide safe, working patrol cars, Gelenius said. The police union for months has been filing grievances to document the situation.

“This continues to be a problem,” he said. “We’re finding issues with these cars every day.”

It did not take much convincing for committee

members Argenti, Councilwoman-at-Large Mary Springowski and Ward 3 Councilwoman Pamela Carter.

“This is not a question of, if we’re going to do this. This is a question that, we have to do this, and it’s just going to be how,” Springowski said. “Because we have to provide them with safe equipment. We have to make sure that the streets are safe. We’ve got to do whatever it’s going to take.

“It’s just something we have to bite the bullet, it has to be done,” she said.

“Agreed,” said Argenti, who represents Ward 4. “And as we go through these allotted funds, there are essential and nonessential items. And this is definitely an essential item.”

The city would use money from the police levy fund to pay for new cars, possibly 10 cars this year, said Mayor Chase Ritenauer.

The administration also

hopes to devote Community Development Block Grant money for police cars and is awaiting a decision on that from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, Ritenauer said.

The city has used federal block grant money to pay for a new fire truck. The federal grant money is geared for improving lowto moderate-income areas.

Lorain will make an improvement in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods if the city can use the block grant money for police cars patrolling those parts of town, Ritenauer said. But the city technically would violate federal rules if those cars were to leave those areas, such as when all units available must respond to a serious incident, he said.

Lorain has a police fleet of about 90 to 95 vehicles; not all are operating at once, said Safety-Service

Director Dan Given.

The last time the city bought a sizable amount of patrol cars was in 2012, when Lorain paid $556,719 for 10 Ford Crown Victoria and six Explorer police models, according to the union. Those cars were paid off in 2015.

It was unclear exactly when Lorain could get the new cars. Cleveland recently received an order of 35 cars in three weeks, said police Lt. Mike Failing, but the order time depends on what vehicles and equipment is available through a dealer.

Attending the committee meeting were Councilwoman JoAnne Moon and Councilmen Dennis Flores, Angel Arroyo Jr. and Mitch Fallis; Council President Joel Arredondo; and Auditor Karen Shawver.

Audience members who spoke also favored the city efforts to get new police cars.