Town of Salina Highway Department, N.Y.

Number of units: 63
Number of technicians: 3

"We try to do as much as we can in-house," said Joel Lamb, crew supervisor.

Outsources:

• Spring repair.

• Tire work.

• Computer-related repair issues.

• Repairs requiring special ­equipment.

How do you feel about managed competition?

"I'm not concerned because I think we operate efficiently." Lamb explained that when he took over in 1986, the town was spending $120,000 annually on repairs, with six technicians employed. He focused on a strict preventive maintenance (PM) schedule, oversaw the purchase of various new equipment over a five-year period, and was able to reduce annual repair cost to the current $85,000, with three technicians.

City of Signal Hill, Calif.

Number of units: 75
Number of technicians: 1, with some work done by the fleet supervisor

"We outsource very little here. Our bread & butter is preventive maintenance (PM), and we don't have a lot of unforeseen repairs," said Sean Lynch, fleet supervisor.

Outsources:

• Major repairs such as transmission work.

• Tires for heavy trucks and equipment.

• Time-consuming repairs.

• Repairs on the City's four compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles.

How do you feel about the services you're providing to the City?

"We take pride in the fleet. It's a small fleet. Our main goal is keeping our customers happy with quick turnarounds and prioritizing," Lynch said.

Sabine River Authority of Texas (Orange, Texas)

Number of units: 169
Number of technicians: 4

"The only thing that we outsource is major repairs on vehicles. All other repairs, service, brakes, tires, etc., is done in-house. We find it gives us a closer look at the vehicle each time something is done to it, be it service or repair," said Keith Hogan, fleet, safety & inventory manager.

Outsources:

• Tire services for heavy trucks and equipment.

• Major repairs such as for engine transmissions.

Why do you think the balance at your facility is a good one?

"For us, in-house [servicing] gives the technicians more opportunities to go over a vehicle and see if anything else needs to be repaired or maybe addressed at the next service," Hogan explained.

City of La Verne, Calif.

Number of units: 157
Number of technicians: 3

"La Verne has been pretty lean from the beginning. We do more with less," said Dave Johnson, fleet superintendent.

Outsources:

• Tire work if it's time-consuming.

• Body work.

• Transmission work.

• Specialized or very large repairs.

How do you feel about managed competition?

"We're not worried about it," Johnson said. The administration and City Council "rely on us, and they know that what we have here is the minimum for doing what we do."  Johnson stated that auditors are often impressed with the efficiency and cleanliness of the operation. He also said he'd been able to reduce administrative time by implementing an automated fleet management system.