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Forest Park Review
A hyperlocal news site committed to in-depth reporting on issues concerning Forest Park, Illinois.
It is time to crunch the numbers on a proposal from Enterprise, the car rental outfit, to see if it makes sense for Forest Park to begin leasing its police cars. Police Chief Ken Gross and village hall colleagues are reviewing the details on a concept the cash-strapped village government likely finds interesting.
In its ongoing financial straits, decades in the making, Forest Park has long failed to invest in its fleet of vehicles – whether police or public works. This has led to an array of workarounds, staff frustration and the sinking of limited cash into ongoing vehicle fixes.
Village Administrator Rachell Entler has been open to all manner of ideas to upgrade village services while conserving cash. With the police department’s aging fleet of patrol cars and other vehicles – there is a 2011 model still rolling around town – the solution will not be a massive purchase of new cars. The money just isn’t there.
Keep in mind that a police patrol car is on the street almost 24 hours a day. Shift-by-shift, the odometer spins.
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So, does turning to leased police cars make sense? Enterprise is interested enough to make a pitch. If the numbers work, new cars would come with the necessary upgrades for police use and be rotated through on a 4- to 5-year lease.
Gross said a sergeant on the force took a management class where participants ran the numbers on leasing police cars and saw some upside. He also told the Review this week that finding a way to upgrade the vehicle fleet would be a boost to officer morale. We can all identify with the “new car smell” effect of driving a solid vehicle. Especially if it is, in effect, your office.
We will wait for the numbers to be reviewed. But good for Forest Park for looking for new ways to fix a seemingly intractable problem.
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