Consideration and Approval of Purchase: Two (2) Police Interceptor Utility Vehicles.

We are seeking to procure two (2) vehicles to replace two (2) Ford Crown Victoria vehicles, which are set for replacement due to age, mileage and/ or other contributing factors used to determine the retirement of a patrol vehicle.  The purchase of these two vehicles was approved by the Fleet Management Committee as well as the Budget Committee; these will be purchased utilizing allocated funds from the department's Rolling Stock/ Fleet account. 

The Budget Committee allocated the necessary funds to accommodate this purchase during FY2017.

COUNCIL GOALS:
 

1) Invest in our employees and implement retention and attraction strategies:
 

It is disheartening and causes concern when officers arrive to work and no vehicles are available to them, preventing them from conducting patrol field activities and responding to calls for services.

4) Develop and implement guiding principles that address public safety service levels through appropriate staff levels:
 

Even with appropriate staff levels, public safety services may suffer when there are insufficient or inadequate vehicles available.  In the event there is an insufficient number of vehicles, it may require officers to double up in a vehicle, resulting in one less patrol unit available to respond to calls or conduct proactive policing.

11) Ensure that we are as prepared as possible for extreme weather events:
 

Since the Ford Police Interceptor Utility's introduction in 2015, the utility platform has proven its effectiveness in all of Flagstaff's weather conditions.  The increased frame and engine clearance allows for safer travel through elevated waters and in the event of a fire, driving on non-maintained roads.  The All-Wheel Drive has proven effective in snow and on slick road surfaces.

There have been no previous Council decisions on this matter.

Forego the purchase of the vehicles and manage the increase in vehicle downtime.  Increases in vehicle downtime are likely to have a direct impact on response times to emergency calls and non-emergency calls for service.  There will also be additional mechanical costs associated with maintaining an older fleet, negatively impacting the FY2017 budget. 

State procurement procedures ARS 41-2533 "G" states: "The contract shall be awarded to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder whose bid conforms  in all material respects to the requirements and criteria set forth in the invitation for bids".  Peoria Ford was the only responsive and responsible bidder.  

An "Invitation For Bid" (IFB# 2017-14) was posted to Planet Bids on August 27, 2016, the city's online bid system; the bid closed on September 21, 2016. The only responsive party was Peoria Ford with a bid of $27,695.24 per unit. The IFB was for the purchase of two (2) units, bringing the total to $55,390.48. Communication was entered into the Civic Plus system to advise all vendors that a new bid was entered into the Planet Bids system. The Purchasing Department contacted N. Cashatt at Babbitt Ford to advise of the new posting. The only bidder that entered a bid on the Planet Bids online bidding website was Peoria Ford and they were determined to be the only Responsive bidder. 

The purchases being recommended have been reviewed and approved by both the Fleet Management Committee and Budget Committee.  Approval of these purchases will help ensure a functional patrol fleet and continue to move the fleet in the direction of best practices in vehicle replacement. 

Forego the purchase at this time and attempt to replace the vehicles out of the Fleet General Fund FY2018 Budget.

Sustaining a reliable police fleet helps minimize vehicle downtime, maximizing the number of police vehicles available for use, which may result in faster response times and an elevated level of service to our citizens. 

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