g. Shrff vehicle/bdgt adjustmnt - Laserfiche WebLink

GOVERNMENT Auditor Michael Montplaisir, CPA 701-241-5601 Treasurer Charlotte Sandvik 701-241-5611 Director of Equalization Frank Klein 701-241-5616 Box 2806 211 Ninth Street South Fargo, North Dakota 58103 FAX 701.241.5728 March 27, 2003 Board of County Commissioners Cass County Government Cass County Courthouse Fargo ND 58103 Re: Budget Adjustment for replacement of unmarked SheriWs vehicle Dear Commissioners: Recently, one of the Sheriff's Deputies was in an accident while driving an unmarked vehicle. The resulting damage to the vehicle is approximately $13,500 - basically from the windshield forward is toast. The question is, "Do we fix the old car or do we sell it for salvage and purchase a new vehicle?" A replacement vehicle is about $16,500, and salvage on the old vehicle is $1,500. Insurance will cover the damage to the other vehicle. My recommendation is to sell the vehicle for salvage and replace it with a new vehicle. The new vehicle, of course, would come with zero miles vs. the 23,000 that are on the damaged vehicle. Also, the new vehicle would not have any of the problems associated with a rebuilt vehicle. We would have some additional costs to move the radio equipment from the damaged vehicle to the new vehicle. The county does not carry comprehensive or collision coverage on our vehicles and has not since the 1980's. I did obtain an estimate from our insurance carrier on comprehensive and collision coverage for our vehicles; we would be looking at about $485 per vehicle for $500 deductible or $396 for $1,000 deductible. With our 120 vehicle fleet, this cost would be a minimum of $47,000. Since we dropped the comprehensive and collision coverage, we have lost or had damage to several vehicles but no where near the cost of the annual premium for comprehensive and collision damage. Most of the time, when a Sheriff's Vehicle is involved in an accident, the other drivers insurance has covered the cost of repairs or replacement. When an accident occurs that results in significant damage that the county has to cover, we do a budget adjustment using the reserves held in the General Fund for just such emergencies. ¢!..n~.~rely, Michael Montplaisir Cass County Auditor SUGGESTED MOTION: Move to amend the Sheriff's Department vehicle replacement line item by $17,000 to cover the purchase and switching of radios to a new vehicle to replace one damaged in an accident.