Gurnee police getting four SUVs despite objections

Four sport-utility vehicles costing the Gurnee Police Department more than $107,000 are expected to lead to better coverage and improved comfort for officers, the police chief says.

The expenditure gained recent village board approval, but it came after two trustees questioned whether it's prudent to buy the more costly Chevrolet Tahoes as squad vehicles in what's perceived as a shaky economy.

Trustees Greg Garner and Kirk Morris aren't the only elected officials disputing such a purchase. City councils in Ohio, New York and other parts of the country have raised similar concerns this year as they debated police vehicle spending proposals.

Before the Gurnee village board approved a new $59 million fiscal year budget that began Tuesday, Garner and Morris voiced concern about allotting money to cover the $107,252 purchase of the police department's Tahoes. They were the dissenters in a recent 3-2 village board vote authorizing the purchase.

Police Chief Kevin Woodside said the Tahoe is a better choice than the traditional squad car because the volume of equipment officers bring on their shifts has increased. He said the roomier vehicle will improve police work and provide good value to taxpayers.

"We are expecting to experience some operational benefits from moving into the larger vehicle," Woodside told village board members at a recent meeting. "Not only the interior of the vehicle being bigger for the officer that spends a 12-hour shift in it, but also the higher profile of the vehicle. It gives us better visibility patrolling areas like parking lots. A higher platform, higher visibility to the public."

Garner said while he agreed the Tahoes will provide greater comfort for officers, it's not worth spending about $5,000 extra for each compared to new Impalas that could have been acquired in a difficult economy.

"Automobiles have worked since the beginning of police work," Garner said.

In Schenectady, N.Y., City Councilman Vincent Riggi said he was among the elected officials to question the assistant police chief's recommendation to buy two Tahoes - instead of new vans replacing the pair already in use - for evidence technicians. He said the issue arose in a committee discussion in January and hasn't resurfaced in the city of about 60,000.

"We're in financial difficulty," Riggi said Tuesday. "And I think it's a bad message we're sending to our residents to have our officers driving high-end vehicles. And they are high-end vehicles."

Gurnee's fleet management administrator, Larry Dunn, said he calculated use of the police department's sole Tahoe at an overall cost of 60 cents per mile to operate compared to the Impalas at 64 cents. Maintenance, repairs, depreciation and fuel efficiency based on Gurnee's vehicle experience were part of the calculation, he said.

Michigan-based automotive analyst Vincentric LLC, in a 2010 report on life cycle costs for law-enforcement vehicles, pegged the Tahoe at 50 cents per mile and the Impala at 53 cents.