Ben Hill County

Feb. 26, 2013

Sheriff Vehicles

  • On Jan. 24th, the last payment of $29,919.70 was made on the note to Ford Credit Municipal Finance Program for 4 Sheriff’s vehicles which were purchased in 2011. At the time, the Sheriff’s Vehicles line in the 2011 SPLOST Budget had an accrued balance of $25,026.60. We borrowed $4,893.10 from other SPLOST accounts to make the pay-off. Today, the accrued balance in this account is $ 55.29. This line has collected $84,694.69 since July of 2011 and spent $ 84,639.69 It averages $4,705.26 in monthly collections
  • The Sheriff is asking the County to buy 2 new Ford F-150 4WD Trucks and 2 new Ford Taurus Police Interceptor Sedans for his department. They are in-stock at Fitzgerald Ford. The February 7th quote for each truck was $ 29,122 and for each sedan is $ 24,000. This is a total of $106,244 for the 4 vehicles. Cages and lights will have to be added separately; and will be paid for by the Sheriff’s Maintenance and Repair funds.
  • The Sheriff recommended a lease/purchase note with the Ford Credit Municipal Finance Program, like we did before. The financed amount would be $106,699, with a 6.0% APR. The first payment of $37,647 would be due before May 31st; at which time he could take possession of the 4 vehicles. 2 more payments of $37,647 would be due on the anniversary dates in 2014 and 2015. The total cost would be $112,941; with $6,697 of this being interest and underwriting fees. If the Commission chooses to pursue this option, it will be necessary to borrow from other SPLOST accounts or the General Fund to make the first payment. Alternatively, it will take about 8 months for this line item to accrue enough SPLOST funds to make the first payment on the note.

–Fitzgerald Ford: (Written quote 2/7/13)

Ford F-150 Crew Cab, 4WD, V-8 @ $29,122 x 2 =$ 58,244

Ford Interceptor Sedans 6 Cylinder @ $24,000 x 2 = $48,000

Total $ 106,244

Lease/Purchase Financing thru Ford Credit: Terms are $106,669 financed @ 6.0% interest with 3 payments of $37,647.12; first due upon delivery, 2nd & 3rd on anniversary in 2014 and 2015. This is total of $112,941.36; with $6,697.36 being interest and fees.

Since the proposed purchase is over $100,000, GA law requires us to get competitive bids. I took the liberty of asking two other dealers for quotes on comparable vehicles.

-Brannan Motor Company in Unadilla: (Bobby Reed - written quote 2/20/13)

Ford F-150 XLT Crew Cab, 4WD, V-8 @ $27,288 = $ 54,576

Ford Interceptor Sedan with V-6 @ $24,410 x 2 = $ 48,820

-Quality Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Inc. in Fitzgerald: (Scott Jones - written quote of 2/20/13)

Dodge Chargers with V-6 @ $23,900 x 2 = $47,800

Dodge Ram 1500 with 4x4 and V-8 @ $24,900 x 2 = $49,800

We also took the liberty of getting estimates on a brake job for a Dodge Challenger. The local dealer quoted $840 for front and rear; including pads, rotors and labor. Sheppard’s Garage quotes the same work at under $500.

We met with the Sheriff to compare bids. He believes the Dodge products are not comparable to the Ford in terms of quality, operation or maintenance costs; based on his experience with these products. He had to upgrade the complete brake systems on his Challengers at a cost of $1,400 for each vehicle.

Comparing the bids from Fitzgerald Ford and Brannan Motor Company, Fitzgerald Ford’s quote on the sedans was $410 per vehicle cheaper.

The Sheriff discussed the Fitzgerald Ford truck bid with the dealer, and was able to get an additional reduction in the quote trucks; lowering it to $28,700 per truck. The quotes from the two Ford dealers are now within $1,412. However, the additional items in the Fitzgerald Ford package are valued at $2,415 (power seats, running boards, and electronic locking differential) and make it a better buy. Fitzgerald Ford is a local dealer; which also makes them more competitive in terms of warranty, maintenance and travel costs for service. Therefore, we recommend purchasing from Fitzgerald Ford.

Ford Motor Credit Company has also reduced the proposed note to $105,400; plus underwriting fees and interest.

Our 2013 Tax Anticipation Note from local banks has a 3.25% interest rate; as opposed to 6.0% the Ford Municipal Finance Program would charge for a note to finance these vehicles. Local banks would probably give us a good rate on a note if offered the chance.

Another option might be to buy the vehicles one at a time, when there is enough money accrued in the Sheriff’s Vehicles Line of the 2011 SPLOST. This would take about 7 months of accruals for a truck and 6 months for a sedan.

The last option would be for the Commission to declare some of the 2011 SPLOST funds that will not be spent on the jail roof as excess and authorize them to be transferred to the Sheriff’s Vehicles line. The jail roof was budgeted at $350,000; and it has been fixed for about $22,000.