In a sluggish economy, new vehicle purchases are often the first item cut from a budget, Patrick said. The asset management will show the impracticality of that policy.
"Driving old vehicles keeps us always in arrears," he said.
Henderson said, "A Band-Aid approach has wasted money."
Typically, used county vehicles would bring in an average of $200,000 annually from auctions.
The new policy should mean at least $1 million in additional revenues in the first year of sales of newer models, officials said.
"By reducing the time you own a vehicle, you reduce the cost of ownership," Patrick said.
In some instances, the county has spent so much on maintenance "that we have actually bought the vehicle again. Instead of selling a 10-year-old piece of junk for no residual value, we will sell for more money long before we get to that point."
Patrick is particularly concerned with aging cars in the Sheriff's Department, a few of which have rusting frames. Those will all be replaced this year.
"They have done as well as they could with the dollars we gave them," he said. "We have not been following the best fleet practices."
The fleet budget for 2009 is nearly triple its annual average, but Henderson and Patrick insist the investment will pay off. They know there will be tweaking, but they are certain the plan is sound.
"Our goal is not to grow our fleet but to centralize its management," Henderson said.
mary.gail.hare@baltsun.com
