County debates buying vehicles versus continuing Enterprise leases as some leases near expiration

County staff and commissioners spent significant time on July 21 evaluating the county’s multiyear vehicle leasing arrangement with Enterprise, which provides vehicles to departments including the assessor’s office, animal control and emergency management.

Staff reported two 2022 Ford Escapes are due to expire in September and October and that the vehicles carry relatively low miles (reported around 30,000–31,000). Options discussed included trading expiring leased vehicles into new leases (with trade-in credit reportedly around $8,000 per vehicle), asking Enterprise whether vehicles can be purchased at lease end (staff said contracts appeared not to include a purchase option, but staff would recheck), switching some units from lease to purchase, and using state contract buy rates through an alternate vendor to reduce acquisition costs.

Departments emphasized operational needs: one department said it needs to retain five field vehicles and at least one truck to tow equipment. Commissioners asked staff to verify trade-in and buyout mechanics with Enterprise, confirm whether the contract moves to month-to-month if a vehicle is not returned on time, and return with mileage and finance details to inform a purchase vs. lease decision.