FORT SMITH - In the midst of controversy, a contentious battle to overthrow the power of the local Civil Service Commission and dealing with potential recall elections of three sitting city directors spearheaded by the local Fraternal Order of Police and Firefighter Union, a study session was held Tuesday to determine if the city of Fort Smith can fund $744.000 in much-needed vehicle equipment, and training upgrades for the FSPD.
The session dealt with the request put in by Police Chief Nathaniel Clark to use 2017 unspent budgeted funds for the FSPD to purchase nine Chevrolet Tahoe police package, three new Harley Davidson motorcycles, and other equipment to better equip the police department. Training for supervisory employees is also included in the $744, 000 funding request.
The study session is slated for noon Tuesday at the Community Room of the Fort Smith Public Library at 3201 Rogers Avenue
The following memo from Clark is the basis for the request:
“The Fort Smith Police Department asked the Finance Department for an estimate of the monies from budgeted salaries and other budgeted items that are expected to be unused by the Fort Smith Police Department at the end of 2017.
The estimate we received was approximately $790,000.
The Fort Smith Police Department is requesting approval from the Board of Directors to utilize these funds to purchase equipment needed to ensure the continued operation of the department. A breakdown of equipment to be purchased and justifications follows below. Fleet:
The Fort Smith Police Department requests using the aforementioned funds to purchase nine (9) fully equipped 2018 Chevrolet 2WD PPV Tahoes. These new units will replace nine (9) aging vehicles from our fleet of patrol vehicles. The estimated cost for each of these nine vehicles is $64,342.
This cost includes the purchase of a Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) with related installation hardware, an L3 in-car camera system, and a Motorola two-way radio for each vehicle. Total estimated cost for nine (9) 2018 PPV vehicles is $579,078. The Patrol Division currently has 37 marked and equipped vehicles in its fleet used specifically for the patrol function.
This number does not include marked Sergeant (supervisor) vehicles or marked School Resource Officer vehicles.
• Eleven (11) of the thirty-seven (37) vehicles used specifically for the patrol function have in excess of 200,000 miles on them.
• Twenty-six (26) of the vehicles have in excess of 100,000 miles on them, many approaching 200,000. YTD (Jan. 1-Aug. 31) for 2017, the department has spent $182,423.05 in maintenance costs for its fleet of vehicles. If we extrapolate that number out to the end of the year, the department is looking at an estimated $273,634.58 in vehicle maintenance costs. In 2016 the department spent $221,672.42 in vehicle maintenance costs.
In 2015, the department spent $224,673.47 in vehicle maintenance costs. The removal of the nine (9) highest mileage vehicles from the fleet should significantly reduce vehicle maintenance costs and provide more reliable vehicles to respond to calls for service from the public.
With the purchase of the new vehicles, the department would replace aging L3 in-car video camera systems. These devices have exceeded their service lives and are beginning to fail. The MDTs to be replaced are outdated and becoming inadequate to support current software demands. The replacement of both systems in the new vehicles would be the preferred and best option.
Motorcycles:
In addition to the nine (9) equipped 2018 Tahoes, the department requests the purchase of three (3) new Harley Davidson police motorcycles at an estimated cost of $20,500 each. In addition to the motorcycles, communications equipment ($1,100), safety equipment and uniforms ($1,100) and training ($2,500) will be needed to be procured.
Total estimated cost for three (3) new 2017 Harley Davidson police motorcycles is $75,600
Critical Incident Equipment:
A Mobile Field Force is a unit of specially equipped and trained officers used to respond to critical incidents and potential or actual civil disturbances. A Mobile Field Force maintains and/or restores order to provide a safe and secure environment for citizens.
The Fort Smith Police Department recently purchased equipment to outfit fifteen (15) Mobile Field Force Officers. This equipment consists of:
• Damascus FX-1 riot suit
• Damascus Flex riot gloves
• Gas mask • Gas mask holder
• Wooden baton
• Premier Crown riot helmet with face shield
This equipment costs a total of $16,991.61 or approximately $1,133 per officer. Using this figure it would cost $28,325 to purchase enough equipment to outfit an additional twenty-five (25) officers.
Supervision Training:
With the recent promotion of seven new Lieutenants and soon seven new Sergeants, I would like to send these newly promoted supervisors to Supervisor Leadership Institute Training sponsored by the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association (LEEDA).
The training is a 4 and ½ day program for front-line Sergeants and middle management Lieutenants. The objective of the program is to develop their leadership competencies, therefore developing our new supervisors to better serve the department and the public. The training is held in multiple locations within an 8 hour drive.
• Tuition for the program is $650 per person x 14 = $9,100
• Travel, lodging, and per diem expenses estimated for 14 supervisors = $13,900 Cost = Approximately $23,000
Tasers:
(12) Our entire TASER CEW inventory has passed the life expectancy of five (5) years. The X26 models are all 8 to 10 years old. The X2 models are 5 to 6 years old. A large majority of the X26 models have stopped working. The longer we keep them in service past their life expectancy, the higher the liability for a claim that the device was malfunctioning at the time of use, if a serious injury or death occurs during use.
With $30,000, we could replace twelve (12) TASER X2, with TASER Cams, 5 year warranties, duty and training cartridges. TASER has several finance and lease type plans, which we have priced before.
One plan, the T60 Basic, allows for 5 annual payments to replace the entire inventory. Under that plan, if we trade in 100 of the old models, we could get 100 new TASER X2 with Cameras, warranties, and initial cartridges for $41,027 year one and $44,244 each year for years two through five.
So, if we planned to budget $30,000 per year for the next five years ($150,000), we’d end up with approximately 60 TASERS with staggered expirations, because we would only get approximately 12 devices per year. If we budgeted just over $40,000 per year, per the T60 plan, we would have 100 new TASERS for the entire five years, at a total cost of approximately $218,003.
The total estimated expenditure to purchase nine (9) Tahoe PPV, three (3) Harley Davidson Police motorcycles, equipment to outfit an additional 25 Mobile Field Force Officers, Supervision Training and 100 Tasers = $747,030″
