Vendor Proposes County Consider Leasing Vehicles To Save Money

SNOW HILL – The county could save significantly by leasing vehicles for the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, according to Enterprise.

Enterprise Fleet Management projects savings of $2.2 million over 10 years if the county stops buying and instead leases vehicles for the sheriff’s office. Fleet consultant Bailey Elliott met with the Worcester County Commissioners last week to share the specifics of the company’s proposal, an open-ended lease that she said would leave the county with plenty of flexibility.

“This is what you want it to be,” she said. “The overall goal is I want to provide flexibility and be a long-term partner for the county.”

Sheriff Matt Crisafulli told the commissioners that as they’d requested when he’d presented his last budget request for 21 new vehicles, his office had researched leasing as a potential cost saving option for the county. Elliott was present Tuesday to share with the commissioners what she’d shared with Crisafulli’s office.

According to Elliott, Enterprise wants to lower the cost of ownership for the county.

“The main way that we have found that we are able to achieve that is by leasing your vehicles and cycling them,” she said. “So to get the elephant in the room out of the way immediately, when Enterprise leases vehicles that is not a traditional lease. We use what is referred to as an open-ended equity lease… In our leasing there are no mileage penalties, there are no wear and tear fees, there are no early termination penalties. These vehicles are yours to do with as you please.”

She said Enterprise would simply make recommendations as far as maintenance and when to turn the vehicle in. Currently, she said the age of the sheriff’s office’s fleet was negatively impacting the budget. according to Elliott, 21% of the fleet was over 10 years old and 47% of the fleet was over six years old.

“Older vehicles have higher fuel costs,” she said. “They also have higher maintenance costs. They tend to be less reliable, require more downtime, more maintenance work to be done, which also then creates a loss of productivity.”

She said that if the county worked with Enterprise, the company would shorten the vehicle lifecycle and wouldn’t have the sheriff’s office using any vehicle over five years old. In doing so, the county would spend less on maintenance and less on fuel. She calculated savings of more than $2 million over 10 years.

When asked about the term of the agreement, Elliott said the county could get out of it at any time.

“We expect to earn your trust every single year,” she said. “We don’t want you to continue being a partner out of obligation.”

Commissioner Ted Elder said he had difficulty believing the mileage savings Elliott projected.

“We haven’t analyzed any of this information,” said Harold Higgins, the county’s chief administrative officer.

Elliott stressed that the program would save the county money and provide it with the flexibility needed. She added that Enterprise already worked with Wicomico County and some other area jurisdictions.

About The Author: Charlene Sharpe

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Charlene Sharpe has been with The Dispatch since 2014. A graduate of Stephen Decatur High School and the University of Richmond, she spent seven years with the Delmarva Media Group before joining the team at The Dispatch.