When the North Judson Town Council approved their budget for 2020 about $30,000 was dedicated to purchasing a new squad car.
During the first Town Council meeting of the month, Town Marshal Kelly Fisher asked for permission to put the order in for vehicle.
She explained, “I’d like to get that ordered now, we don’t have to pay for it until next year but the ordering time is approximately 8 weeks out.
She said they’re looking to get a 2020 Dodge Durango, which is an all-wheel drive SUV.
Fisher said that Dodge offers a government bid so essentially every option they looked at came in at the same price which was around $31,149. She noted that after speaking with Thomas Dodge, he said that quote is expected to go down a bit after getting tag and title registration.
She recommended getting it locally from Lochemandy in Knox.
Marshal Fisher also shared that Dodge offers a lifetime warranty if they follow a maintenance program. Ordinance Officer Kerry Rust said that means if they have it serviced on a regular basis and have it recorded, the warranty will remain in place.
The Town Council members voted to allow Fisher to order the vehicle and pay for it after the 1st of the year.
In the initial motion, Councilwoman Wendy Hoppe added a condition. She noted that since only $30,000 was budgeted for the new vehicle and Department officials decided against buying a golf cart, the additional funds will be taken from the line item that was intended for that purchase.
With the new Durango, the Department will be up to six vehicles. Fisher said they plan to keep them all in order to have an extra one on-hand and so Ordinance Officer Kerry Rust can utilize it.
