The Wright City Police Department will be removing eight police vehicles from their fleet and financing nine new ones through Enterprise for $161,144 a year plus a $49,500 down payment. 

The decision was agreed upon by the Wright City Board of Aldermen at their Dec. 26 meeting, pending approval by the city’s attorney. 

Roughly $98,000 of the first year’s payment will be covered by the city’s remaining ARPA funds, which were required to be allocated by the end of 2024. 

As part of the agreement Enterprise will sell the old vehicles for Wright City with a minimum total price tag of $44,339, although there is a chance they could be sold for more. 

Lieutenant Aaron Sutton said the department expects to cycle the new vehicles into their fleet some time in the next four to six months. 

The down payment will also cover half of the cost of outfitting the new vehicles, with the police department covering the other half, according to Sutton. 

Previously the board had discussed two more limited purchase agreements presented by Sutton that would have included the purchase of either three or four new vehicles with a $30,000 down payment and an annual cost of roughly $95,000 a year for three or four years. 

After further discussion the board and the department decided the need for new police vehicles would only continue to increase. 

“We were so far behind the eight ball with police cars,” said Aldermen Karey Owens. “We were never going to catch up unless we did something like this.”

The new vehicles will also help to prepare the department for the future as they plan to expand their police force in coming years as the community continues to grow. 

In previous years, the department had been allocated a total of $60,000 per year for the purchase of a new car. Under that arrangement, Sutton said maintenance costs were continuing to rise and the down-time on vehicles requiring repairs was steadily increasing. 

“During this process, I believe it became apparent replacing one vehicle per year was an ineffective means to alleviate ongoing issues within the fleet,” said Sutton. 

The eight vehicles the department will be replacing will include two 2015 Ford Tauruses, a 2015 Ford Fusion, s 2016, 2015 and 2013 Dodge Charger, a 2021 Dodge Durango and a 2013 Chevrolet Impala. 

They will be replaced by eight 2025 Ford F-150s and one non-patrol vehicle to be used by Wright City police detectives. 

Sutton had previously stated a number of area departments have been making the switch to using trucks as patrol vehicles instead of more traditional patrol vehicles like Dodge Chargers and Durangos or Ford Explorers. He said the trucks retained more value, had more interior space and had proven to be more reliable in other departments.

The Truesdale Police Department purchased a new F-150 to use as a patrol vehicle last year. 

“We have to think about it, that’s their office,” said Mayor Michelle Heiliger. “They’re in it all day long, no matter what.”

In previous discussions, aldermen had expressed some trepidation on the increase in spending, but when weighing the benefits of the new vehicles and long-term savings from decreased maintenance costs compared to keeping one year’s budget tighter, the answer was clear. 

“I was initially opposed to it, but I understand now and my exact question to the mayor and to the lieutenant was: is this a financial decision? Is this a morale decision? Is this an attracting new talent decision? What’s driving this? said Alderman Ramiz Hakim. “And again, another great answer was, it’s all those things.”