Cary Looks At Possibility Of Leasing Municipal Vehicles

The village of Cary recently discussed the possibility of leasing its fleet of police, public works and administrative vehicles through Enterprise Fleet Management as it begins to replace older vehicles. Eric Morimoto, director of public works, said at a Committee of the Whole meeting last week that village officials have been trying to find a sustainable way to maintain and replace their vehicles and heavy equipment. “This is an idea that has been utilized by some of the area municipalities besides us, so we’re not blazing an entirely new trail, but it is an idea that’s worked for other government agencies and one that we wanted to consider,” Morimoto said. Currently, Enterprise partners with about 40 government entities, including Crystal Lake, Algonquin, Geneva, Arlington Heights, North Chicago and Kane County. Gabby Harding of Enterprise Fleet said the company has a full-service program, with Enterprise Fleet acquiring the vehicles and ordering them directly from the manufacturer, as well as providing a fixed-maintenance program for newly leased vehicles. Through the program, Enterprise would sell old vehicles on the village’s behalf, as well as help with license and the title registration and administrative side. The company also would help the village figure out the right time to replace every vehicle in the fleet for what it said would be optimal cost-savings. “By lowering the age of your fleet, the operational costs are going to go down as well,” Harding said. In the Public Works Department, Enterprise recommended selling four vehicles, worth about $20,000.