Penn Township facing delays in receiving new police vehicles
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Penn Township police will be getting a trio of new SUVs this year.
The board of supervisors approved the purchase of three 2023 Ford Explorer all-wheel-drive police vehicles at $37,680 each, for a total of $113,040. The township will pay an additional $54,035 for emergency lighting, sirens and other equipment, and $8,154 for mobile radio packages.
Township police Chief John Otto said he expects the SUVs to arrive in May at the earliest.
“That’s the best-case scenario on the ground, and then you have to put the markings on them and put (on) the cameras,” Otto said.
The township typically retires three of its police vehicles each year. They last about seven to nine years before being replaced.
In recent years, supply chain shortages have delayed arrival of the vehicles. Last year, the three vehicles that were ordered in January didn’t arrive until December, Otto said.
“The inspection was expired the day that they were delivered,” Otto said. “We had to send them to the shop with 20 miles on them to get inspected.”
The vehicles that will be replaced by the new Ford Explorers have had their equipment removed and soon will be sold on Municibid. At the moment, the department is making do with what vehicles they have, Otto said.
“We’re limping along, but these three cars can’t come soon enough,” he said. “It’s a challenge, to be honest with you.”
Vehicles also have increased in price each year, he said, so the department tries to get the most out of each one.
“Covid doesn’t help. The supply chains don’t help. But it is just the life of managing a fleet,” Otto said. “Things are beyond your control, and you try to do the best you can to manage it. We don’t have all the money in the world, but, so far, we’ve been able to repair cars that are repairable.”