Enterprise Rent-A-Car unit to manage Gaylord's city vehicle fleet
GAYLORD — Gaylord will enter into an agreement with a unit of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car company to manage its fleet of vehicles in a move that is projected to save the city around $200,000 over 10 years.
On Monday night, the city council approved a proposal from Enterprise to move from an owned, buy-and-hold fleet management approach to a more flexible program with a shortened cycle that will enable Gaylord to have its 17-vehicle fleet change over every few years.
"Basically it’s a leasing program through Enterprise that takes advantage of the city’s ability to purchase vehicles at reduced costs. The reduced cost allows us to utilize vehicles for a year or two and sell them for more than we paid for them. Trucks we use in the Department of Public Works (DPW) sell better than the sedans and SUVs that the police department uses, so the timing of getting rid of vehicles is important to maximize these returns to offset our leasing costs," said Gaylord City Manager Kim Awrey.
"Enterprise figures when is the prime time to get rid of the vehicle. They will replace the vehicle with another new vehicle," she added.
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By getting out of a vehicle every two years or so, the city avoids any major repair bills because the vehicles are under warranty.
"We would phase our 17-vehicle fleet into this leasing program over the course of five years and through the sales of our current fleet, turnover of leases and reduction in maintenance, the city is estimated to save over $220,000 the next 10 years," Awrey said.
Awrey added the city can order specially equipped vehicles for the police department and DPW. Police vehicles will be allotted $11,000 to install required safety equipment while DPW would be able to add a plow if needed to a vehicle.
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Currently, the city has been utilizing grants from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to pay for about 75 percent of the cost of a new police vehicle. However, those grants may no longer be available as the USDA has other funding specifications such as COVID-19 requirements, noted Awrey.
Both the city and Alpena County have been using a similar approach. The Alpena County Sheriff's Office will acquire eight new vehicles, including six patrol vehicles, through that county’s leasing program with Enterprise Fleet Management.
— Contact reporter Paul Welitzkin at pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Enterprise Rent-A-Car unit to manage Gaylord's city vehicle fleet
