Wheeling Police Chief’s Plan for Take-Home Vehicles Would Cost City $1.3 Million
Schwertfeger: Savings would be realized down the road
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WHEELING -- Wheeling city officials are exploring expanding the city police department's fleet of cruisers and implementing a take-home vehicle policy for all of its officers -- an estimated seven-figure investment.
Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger, who has advocated a take-home cruiser policy for years, spoke before the city council's Public Safety Committee Tuesday night to explain his position.
"Currently about 50 percent of the sworn staff today has take-home vehicles," said Schwertfeger, who has previously noted that it has been department policy that officers with ranks of sergeant or higher typically have their own assigned vehicles. "That's roughly 35 of the 73 -- a little less than 50 percent.
"We could outfit the remaining officers with an assigned vehicle at approximately $50,000 per vehicle for a price tag of about $1.3 million," he continued. "That's an investment that I think stings when you first hear it. But down the road, the return on investment is there, no doubt about it."
Schwertfeger explained that the department cruisers that are shared are typically driven regularly during all shifts without down time. When a patrolman completes his shift, he hands the keys to another officer on the next shift, and the vehicle keeps going.
This constant usage adds to wear and tear and quickly catapults the mileage on new vehicles over the threshold of its factory warranty.
Schwertfeger said the city would realize long-term cost savings if each officer had his or her own take-home, assigned vehicle. Not only would it greatly extend the life of each vehicle, it would also help increase police visibility in neighborhoods where officers reside, increase response time in marked vehicles to calls for service and make shift changes more efficient.
It also would be a major incentive for recruitment and retention of officers in the Wheeling Police Department, which has been working to fill voids in positions for more than a year now.
According to Schwertfeger, availability of an assigned vehicle is among the top three factors when it comes to officer recruitment and retention, behind pay and benefits.
Also, officers who have an assigned vehicle tend to take ownership of that cruiser, the chief said. Officers go the extra mile to take care of their own cruiser as opposed to a shared one, and there is a more focused accountability for the vehicle and its equipment.
Schwertfeger said there is a striking difference between maintenance of take-home vehicles versus those in the three-shift rotation.
Councilman Ben Seidler, chairman of the Public Safety Committee, noted that there were several financial factors to consider, including how much more in insurance rates the city would have to pay, the likely increase of fuel costs and the fact that -- even with a greatly extended road life -- each vehicle would eventually have to be replaced at a cost to the city.
"We do fully insure our police cars ... it is a major component of our overall insurance package," City Manager Robert Herron said, noting that an estimated insurance cost increase to add 25 or more vehicles would have to be explored.
"I think that's one detail that we would need to know," Seidler said. "I'm certainly not prepared to commit $1.3 million, but then again, I'm not on the Finance Committee."
Councilman Dave Palmer, the Finance Committee chairman, said the financial impact of the program must be further explored.
A typical patrol car costs about $30,000 when purchased new. Outfitting them with police packages -- radios, computers, radar equipment, lights, dash cameras and other law enforcement features -- brings the average total cost to about $50,000 each, officials explained.
Other municipalities have implemented assigned police vehicle programs with great success, Schwertfeger noted. He said he was not aware of a law enforcement department to ever go back from an assigned vehicle program after implementing one. In Parkersburg, the program has specific policies such as those limiting take-home vehicles to officers that live within the county. With Wheeling being within a "border county" between the states of Ohio and Pennsylvania, the chief noted that officers living outside of the state of West Virginia and beyond a 45-mile radius of Wheeling should be exempt from the assigned vehicle program, as the current policy stands for ranking officers who have their own cars.
Members of the Public Safety Committee agreed to forward the matter to the Finance Committee of Council.