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CITY OF CORTEZ
123 ROGER SMITH AVENUE
CORTEZ, CO 81321

Vern Knuckles
Chief of Police
608 N. Park Street
Cortez, CO. 81321
vknuckles@cortezco.gov

Memorandum

To:

CORTEZ CITY COUNCIL

From:

Lori Millich, Administrative Secretary/Police

Date:

03-06-2024

RE:

2024 Police Vehicle Lease

DISCUSSION

The Police Department is requesting that the City lease six (6) new police vehicles. Three (3) 2024 Chevy Tahoes for Investigations and three (3) Chevy 1500 pickups for Patrol. All six (6) vehicles are Police Pursuit Vehicles (PPV) rated.
At the end of the lease, the City of Cortez can sell the vehicle back to the leasing company, retain the vehicle for other City use, or sell the vehicle to another entity. There are no mileage or use restrictions.

BACKGROUND

In 2020 and 2021, the police department did not receive replacement vehicles for either of those years due to budget cuts. Not receiving replacement vehicles put the police department’s already aging fleet behind in its vehicle rotation.
In 2022, the City moved two 2019 Dodge 1500 Special Service Vehicles (SSV) into the police department patrol fleet. One vehicle came from Public Works and the other from the police department Administration Division. The City then purchased two non-police-rated vehicles locally to replace the Public Works and Police Administration vehicles, helping prevent further replacement issues.
In 2022, the Cortez City Council approved a four-year lease for six (6) 2023 Chevy Tahoe PPVs, effectively starting the lease program. The police department is now requesting the Cortez City Council approve the lease of six (6) additional vehicles for year two of the program.
Currently, 44 percent of the Police Department’s vehicles are at or above 75,000 miles, 15 percent are between 50,000 and 75,000 miles, and 41 percent are below 50,000 miles.
The goal of leasing vehicles for the police department was to establish a vehicle lease program. The lease program would allow the City to lease six (6) new police vehicles for a term of five years. This five-year lease would allow the police department to rotate its entire fleet in five years. At the end of the five-year lease period, the City of Cortez has the option to purchase the leased vehicles for $1.00 or sell them back to the leasing company at fair market value. The option to purchase these vehicles for a dollar would allow the City to purchase the vehicles and re-purpose them in other areas of the City. Currently, police department vehicles that are five to six years old have between 25,000 and 40,000 miles on them. It is estimated that vehicles repurposed within the City would have significant usable life left in them for the other departments.

FISCAL IMPACT

Using Kansas State Bank for the lease and MHQ of New Mexico for the up-fit, the total cost is $409,100.00 (vehicle lease cost and up-fit).
Annual payments over five years are $92,256.34 (Kansas State Bank)
See 2nd page of the attachment for a breakdown.

This expense was approved in the FY2024 budget in the Police Admin Capital Projects Expense Line.

RECOMMENDATION

Staff recommends that the City Council authorize City Manager Sanders to negotiate and sign a five (5) year lease agreement with Kansas State Bank to lease three 2024 Chevy Tahoes, and three 2024 Chevy 1500s from John Elway Chevrolet and have those six vehicles up-fitted with emergency equipment by MHQ of New Mexico.

MOTION

If agreed upon by the City Council, a possible motion would be:
I move that City Council authorize City Manager Sanders to negotiate and sign a five (5) year lease agreement with Kansas State Bank to lease three 2024 Chevy Tahoes, and three 2024 Chevy 1500s from John Elway Chevrolet and have those six vehicles up-fitted with emergency equipment by MHQ of New Mexico, for a total cost of $409,100.

Attachments

2024 Police Vehicle Lease