Alexander to buy new police cars, pay over 5 years

ALEXANDER — The City Council on Monday approved spending about $207,500 over the next five years to buy a new fleet of police vehicles.

In a 6-2 vote, with two absences counting as no votes, Alexander aldermen gave Assistant Police Chief Derrick Jackson permission to enter into an agreement with Landers Auto Group of Benton for seven 2014 Dodge Chargers. The automobiles will be purchased on a state contract that will save the city about $46,000, Jackson told the council.

The cars normally cost about $34,000 each, but the city will get them for $29,622 at a 3 percent interest rate on a five-year payment plan.

Just two of Alexander’s seven police vehicles, which range in age from 2006 Chevrolets to 2008 Dodges, are operating right now and both have had maintenance done in the past two months totaling about $12,000, Mayor Michelle Hobbs said.

The Police Department has eight employees — six officers, an assistant chief and the chief.

“If the city has to spend money on repairing these vehicles, why not just spend the money purchasing new ones and you won’t have to worry about repairs … They will be under warranty,” Hobbs said.

The six council members at the meeting agreed that the city needed new police cars, but there was some discussion on where the money to pay for the vehicles would come from.

Aldermen had the option of having the city make monthly payments of $3,728.19 or yearly payments of $44,738.28. Hobbs preferred the yearly payments and told aldermen that the money was available in the city’s general fund account.

But Alderman Johnny Faye McKeon pointed out that the council’s recent decision to consolidate the city’s bank accounts makes it difficult to see how much revenue the Police Department generates on the monthly financial statements presented to aldermen. The statements break down the expenses for each sub-department within the general fund, but all departmental revenue is shown as a lump sum in the account.

McKeon said she did not want to vote to spend the nearly $45,000 a year on police vehicles without the reassurance that the Police Department would generate enough revenue to make up for that money.

Hobbs told her that the money in the general fund is there to be spent on anything the city needs.

McKeon voted with the other aldermen to approve the fleet purchase on a monthly payment system, but only with the reassurance that next month she will be able to see the general fund revenue itemized by department.

The seven vehicles will take about three months to come in, Jackson said.