ROWLETT, TEXAS - The City of Rowlett council during a recent special budget workshop discussed its planned fleet acquisition strategy, addressing equipment age and shop size, reported the Rowlett Lakeshore Times.

Brian Funderburk, assistant city manager and CFO, gave a presentation about the city's planned fleet acquisition strategy. He said several factors limited the effectiveness of the city's fleet, among which is equipment age and the small size of the shop used for repair work.

He said City staff also suggested relocating the shop to a better location to allow for proper maintenance and repair of fleet equipment and vehicles.

The city plans to implement a 10-year replacement strategy which will reduce maintenance costs. Currently there are 72 of the city's more than 200 pieces of fleet equipment that needed to be upsized or downsized based on the city staff's evaluation, according to Funderburk. He said this should lead to a 25 percent fuel efficiency gain.

The challenge for the city is being able to find the $5.5 million over the next five years that will be required to complete the necessary equipment replacements, according to the Rowlett Lakeshore Times.