Board approves five-year lease-to-own for armored rescue vehicle to replace MRAP reliance

Captain Mike Carney presented the Sheriff's Office request to lease-to-own an armored tactical rescue vehicle to replace operational reliance on a government-owned MRAP. Carney said the MRAP is cumbersome, difficult to repair, and requires specialty parts and Class A drivers; the proposed vehicle is built on a commercial chassis, can reach highway speeds, carries 10–12 personnel and uses readily available parts.

Carney and finance staff said the program is a five-year lease-to-own arrangement with an estimated annual payment near $111,000; the first payment would be scheduled in the next budget cycle and the vehicle build time is 12–18 months. Staff said the county could return the MRAP to the federal program once the new vehicle is in service.

Supervisors asked about financing, operational use, acreage response time improvements and build timelines. Carney estimated the vehicle would cut response travel time for South County incidents roughly in half and allow the sheriff's office to carry its full tactical team without extensive pre-staging.

After public comment and internal discussion about budgeting and public perception of militarized vehicles, the board moved and voted to approve proceeding with the lease-to-own purchase and associated budget planning for the next fiscal year.