City of Ames, Iowa: Police cars replaced by need, not by time or miles
n April 2010, Paul Hinderaker, Director of Fleet Services for the City of Ames, Iowa, chartered a team of City employees from the Police Department and Fleet Services to review and update the process and criteria used for taking police cars out of service. Historically the cars had been removed from service at 130,000 miles, determined mainly by fleet maintenance records. However, in 2003, this was changed by a new police chief to 25 months in an effort to improve officer morale. Under this mandate, the cars came out of service with fewer miles on them, but the condition of the cars ranged widely from very poor condition to very good condition. Changes in technology, fuels, maintenance requirements, performance, up-fitting costs, usage, vehicle size and ergonomics, and miles and condition, justified revisiting this process.
The team met numerous times from April through September 2010. They considered the fact that police cars would be changing in the near future due to models either being changed in style or size, discontinued, or new ones being introduced. In addition, it was noted that police cars are being used more as a mobile office than before. Ultimately, a survey of 14 other agencies, similar or close to the size and operations of Ames, was
conducted to gather the information they used to accomplish this task. The team also searched the web of the OEMs of police cars for similar information, but no useful or practical information was found. An in-depth review of the survey data indicated that agencies tend to use either miles or time as the primary criteria. The survey also found no correlation between extending either miles or time limits (done for budget purposes) on cost effectiveness.
The Team’s Charge The team was charged with the following: •
Identifying measurable operating and economic factors, and vehicle condition that could be used to permanently remove a police car from service.
•
Identifying the factors that would ensure that each car would reliably remain in service for the optimal length of time or distance at the lowest life-cycle cost.
34 APWA Reporter
September 2012
Rich Bruns, City of Ames ASE Master Certified technician, performs preventive maintenance and inspection on one of the Parking Enforcement vehicles.
