SHEBOYGAN, MI – The Sheboygan Police Department will be getting 16 new squad cars, a $308,000 expenditure approved by the Common Council, according to the Sheboygan Press. The council approved $265,390 for the marked squads and $42,702 for the detective cars, approving a bid for Ford Crown Victorias from Ewald Hartford Ford.

The department replaces the marked cars every three years, after moving from a two-year rotation six years ago. The purchase replaces 14 of 15 marked squad cars — excluding the canine unit — and adds two detective cars to the 43-vehicle police fleet. The 14 old squads from the 2004-model year will be traded in.

The Sheboygan squad cars log a combined 1 million miles in their time in service; the average life expectancy of a police squad is two years and 70,000 miles.

When the new squads arrive, almost all the equipment is transferred from the previous fleet. According to the report, only a few hundred dollars will be spent upgrading each car, primarily for new speaker mounts.