HOULTON, Maine — The town’s chief of police aired concerns Monday evening to members of the town council over the condition of his department’s fleet of patrol cars.
The Houlton Police Department has six vehicles, ranging from a 2009 Ford Explorer to a 2016 Ford Interceptor SUV. Chief Joe McKenna informed councilors that two of the vehicles were in dire need of replacement and have been removed from active patrol duty.
McKenna said he did not feel comfortable waiting until the next budget cycle in January, 2017 to replace the units and was asking the council to authorize the purchase of at least one vehicle.
“Most vehicles today, if you are talking about 120,000 miles you start getting significant wear issues,” McKenna said.
A 2013 Interceptor, which has 134,000 miles on it, was cited as the vehicle needing to be replaced “as soon as possible,” according to the chief. The department has spent $7,500 in repairs on this vehicle alone, and additional repairs are still needed on it.
A headlight issue has been one of the consistent problems with this vehicle, McKenna said. Despite numerous repair efforts, one of the vehicle’s headlights continues to malfunction, the driver’s side door needs to be replaced due to a cracked interior, and the seat needs to be replaced due to a hole.
McKenna estimated an additional $2,650 was needed to get this vehicle back on the road, which he felt was too much to invest in an aging vehicle. The vehicle’s auction value is $3,500, according to the chief.
“My concern is, are we doing the town justice by dumping more and more money into this vehicle to keep it on the road?” he asked. “Right now, it should be off the road, but we are working a case right now, so I have to put it on the road. If it were a private citizen, they would probably get a ticket or at the very least a warning.”
The second vehicle, a 2009 Explorer, has been used by the captain and detective. The chief has also been using this vehicle after his 2016 F-150 was involved in an accident. McKenna said he is hoping that truck will be back sometime within the next week. That truck could then be put into the rotation as a patrol vehicle, if needed.
In the 2016 budget, $10,500 was allocated for maintenance and repairs in the police department. Chief McKenna said he has already gone over budget to keep vehicles on the road, and additional funds are needed for more repair work.
The department runs four vehicles for patrol, averaging 30,000 miles per vehicle each year.
In 2014 the town skipped its normal purchase of a patrol car to reduce the overall budget. That decision, according to the chief, is now partially responsible for the state of his department’s vehicles.
“If we skip one year in our cycle, it puts us in a bad situation,” McKenna said. “These cars have to be rotated based on the mileage we are doing.”
Houlton Town Manager Butch Asselin, who previously served as the town’s police chief, said repairs to police vehicles are always costly, but also come with the territory.
“This is not a new problem,” he said. “Repairs cost money.”
Asselin added the only way the town could cover the expense of purchasing a new vehicle would be to take the money out of its undesignated fund balance.
Ultimately, the council instructed the police chief to come back with numbers on what it would cost for a new vehicle, and also asked him to look into pursuing lease options.
