WILMINGTON — The Wilmington Police Department will soon purchase 25 new vehicles for a total of $663,925.
The purchase is part of a scheduled replacement of police vehicles, according to a city memo.
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City council already approved the funding for the vehicles when it adopted WPD’s Fleet Replacement budget for fiscal year 2021. Council will vote to approve the purchase at its regular meeting Dec. 1 as part of the consent agenda.
The vehicles will be purchased from Ilderton Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram in High Point. State statute permits an exemption to the typical public bidding process in awarding contracts through a group purchasing program, which the dealership participates in by offering discount prices to public agencies.
“If the Resolution is not passed, the result will be an increase in police vehicle downtime and maintenance costs,” the memo states.
WPD purchased 20 black Dodge Chargers in 2018 from the same dealership. Then, the purchase price was $500,060, or roughly $25,003 per vehicle. This time around, the purchase price for each 2021 Dodge Charger Pursuit $26,557, according to the contract.
The department decommissions vehicles if they rack up more than 100,000 miles or have been on the road for eight years — whichever comes first. Decommissioned vehicles are then sold in a public auction.
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