Council approves appropriation to buy six police vehicles amid procurement questions

The Richmond Common Council on June 1 approved Ordinance 27, a special appropriation to purchase six police vehicles. The finance committee recommended moving forward with the purchase after discussions about fleet needs and prior procurement practices.

Controller Tracy McInness explained that the additional appropriation would be coded into the unobligated police account that the council controls and that the funds would come from the general fund cash balance, noting increased revenues helped cover the appropriation. "The funds are coming from the cash balance in the general fund," McInness said.

Council members expressed concern about procurement process issues: some members questioned whether city employees lacked authority to place verbal orders and whether the dealership should have honored verbal requests without purchase orders. Several members nevertheless supported buying the vehicles to meet operational needs; the finance committee representative said the police department's needed rotation is roughly 16 cars per year and that the committee recommended purchasing eight vehicles this cycle to address immediate needs.

Council also discussed K9 program logistics. Chief Wely said the K9 program is funded by donations and that the department recently lost a K9 vehicle; outfitting a replacement kennel for a new vehicle would cost roughly $3,000 and that line-item funding for that item is not currently available.

After public hearing and debate, council members moved to engross and call the question. The roll-call vote showed unanimous support and Ordinance 27 was passed.

Next steps: the appropriation will be coded to the police unobligated account, purchases will be approved through the council's special appropriation process, and staff expect to address fleet‑policy and 2027 budget considerations in future planning.