Wisconsin City Switches to Leasing to Update Fleet

The City of Platteville, Wisconsin, council voted to begin replacing some of its aging fleet with leased vehicles. The city has entered into a lease and maintenance contract with Enterprise Fleet Management, the Telegraph Herald reported.

City leaders discussed the program during a common council meeting this month. The city does not have a standing fleet replacement plan to ensure vehicles are rotated out in an efficient manner, according to meeting notes. As such, 70% of its light- and medium-duty fleet is more than 10 years old, and the oldest vehicle is approaching 23 years. Entering into a lease program would allow the city to cycle out vehicles every three years, significantly reducing the average fleet age.

Other benefits expected include a more consistent annual budget, improved safety and employee satisfaction, lower fuel costs, and lower maintenance and repair costs, allowing city technicians more time to perform repairs on larger vehicles and equipment that are more costly to perform externally.

The initial plan calls for the lease of 13-15 vehicles with $77,000, which would have been used to replace two vehicles and a dump truck body. The city projects allocating $60,000 annually toward lease replacement vehicles.

The city manager reached out to neighboring municipalities with a lease model, and they reported positive results. One city reported higher insurance costs because of increased vehicle value.