The City of Pittsburgh has approved a five-year, $46 million contract with service provider First Vehicle of Cincinnati despite complaints about the high price tag and insufficient service, reports the Post-Gazette.

The City Council approved the new contract Oct. 18, after an RFP process that resulted in First Vehicle submitting the only bid.

Department officials responsible for vehicles said they were satisfied with the vendor's performance.

The city has outsourced its maintenance operations to First Vehicle since 2005. The initial deal was expected to cut maintenance and repair costs from $5.5 million to $4 million. But the price tag was up to $8 million by 2014 and is expected to approach $9 million next year. 

Earlier this year, the City Comptroller's Office conducted an audit of First Vehicle's performance in 2013 and 2014 and found that EMS, Fire, and Police vehicles did not meet the desired 48-hour turnaround time 94% to 96% of the time.