Texas City Approves Leasing, Maintenance Program for Police

The Bastrop, Texas, City Council on July 27 unanimously approved a lease and maintenance program for aging Bastrop police cars that are causing issues for officers, according to the Austin American-Statesman. The report stated the council voted to replace seven police cars with vehicles from Enterprise Fleet Management, with the ultimate goal of eventually leasing all fleet vehicles.

"The police department has struggled over the last several years with the reliability of its fleet. The maintenance costs and lost manhours have been excessively high. With the reduction in operational fleet, this puts more wear and tear on the fleet in operation. There have been over 100 repair trips since October 1, 2020," The meeting agenda packet stated.

According to the agenda packet, leasing would have potential benefits such as consistent, up-to-date vehicles that are in reliable, good operating condition; a professionally managed maintenance program; a professional image; contribution to positive morale for current officers; and improvement of recruiting efforts.

As part of this potential change, the department plans to remove Chevrolet Tahoes from the fleet and replace them with other vehicles such as the Ford Police Interceptor Utility and/or the Ford F-150 pursuit-rated light-duty truck.