BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI

North Country This Week

MASSENA - The Village Board of Trustees approved a deal that will bring Enterprise on board to manage the village’s fleet of vehicles, but the vote was not without controversy.

By a thin margin of 3-2, Mayor Greg Paquin was authorized to initiate the deal, with Deputy Mayor Matt LeBire and Trustee Francis Carvel casting the dissenting votes.

Both LeBire and Carvel wondered what the long-term cost and savings would actually be, both saying the deal would leave the village without long-term equity and flexibility.

“It’s okay right now because we own the vehicles outright, we can do what we want or need with them. But what happens two or three years into this when we’re leasing most of our vehicles? If we don’t want to continue working with Enterprise, we have to either buy new vehicles or purchase the leases outright,” Carvel said.

LeBire was also critical of the deal, saying the projections were part of a plan that called for the village to replace 39 vehicles over the 10 years of the deal. The presentations trustees saw last month claimed the village would save a minimum of $400,000 over the course of 10 years.

“While this seems great, this whole thing is based on a specific number of vehicles being replaced by Enterprise. So that savings may not be exactly what we see down the road,” LeBire said.

Though he feels the deal will not lose money, LeBire said the control and flexibility to do as the village wishes is his primary objection.

“I don’t want to tie the hands of another board a few years down the line by signing this deal and have Enterprise manage the fleet. I just think losing control of our vehicles like this will lead to issues down the road if we decide we no longer want to be a part of this,” LeBire said.

Carvel also highlighted a conversation he had with Canton officials, who also have a deal with Enterprise, and the main point of contention they have about such agreements.

“When Enterprise wants a car, they show up the next day and just tell you. The vehicle may be in service, you may be using it, it may not be ready or cleaned out but when they are there, they say they want the vehicle. It’s happened a few times already in Canton,” Carvel said.

Enterprise claimed when a vehicle is being taken out of service, a new vehicle is readily available to replace the one being taken out of circulation.

“What about the other factors we haven’t mentioned? What about the morale boost of having new vehicles to drive around, to know we don’t need to worry about them breaking down. I think things like that are also something we need to consider,” Trustee Chad Simpson inquired.

“You want to talk about morale, think about how high morale will be if you have to override the tax cap to pay off leases if you want to get out of the deal. Village residents won’t be happy to hear their taxes are going up again if that does happen. I just don’t think giving up this level of control is a good idea,” LeBire said.

Another concern Carvel addressed was the idea that the vehicles will be used heavily, with their condition becoming degraded over time to a point that equity will be lost.

“You look at the guys working in the field, they have older vehicles that are 10 or 15 years old. They’re dented up, they have scratches. It’s not that they are bad employees and don’t take care of everything, it’s just the nature of the work. It’s going to happen regardless of who is using it,” he said.

Carvel went on further, saying the cost to repair body damage and repaint a vehicle would negate any potential equity the village may have left in each vehicle.

“I think the idea that we can save time and money with repairs, that we can free up our own mechanics and employees to do other work is going to be a huge benefit though,” Trustee Christine Winston said.

“Letting Enterprise handle things like oil changes can save us money and time, which will let our mechanics handle other jobs,” she continued.

Under the terms of the deal, Enterprise would have authorized dealers and garages for the village to use at specific rates to handle smaller repair jobs and maintenance. Of the companies listed by Enterprise, the vast majority already have a working relationship with the village.

Officials also say the decision to work with Enterprise will also free up time for supervisors, alleviating the burden of vehicle management and maintenance.

Mayor Greg Paquin served as the tie breaking vote during the meeting, saying he felt the benefits far outweighed the potential negatives.

Officials will now authorize the deal, with Enterprise expected to take over fleet management in the coming months.