Thursday, April 18, 2024 | St. Lawrence County, NY
BY JIMMY LAWTON North Country This Week OGDENSBURG -- After years of contemplation, Ogdensburg will move forward with a fleet management agreement as recommended by the state financial restructuring …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
To continue reading, you will need to either log in to your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a digital subscriber with an active, online-only subscription then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you've not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
BY JIMMY LAWTON
North Country This Week
OGDENSBURG -- After years of contemplation, Ogdensburg will move forward with a fleet management agreement as recommended by the state financial restructuring board.
Councilor John Rishe voted against the proposal, which passed 6-1.
In a presentation before the vote, a representative from Enterprise said 35 percent of the city’s vehicles were more than 10 years old and 86 percent of the city’s light duty vehicles were over five years old.
He said the older vehicles are costing the city money in fuel and maintenance and are also less safe.
All though the present described slides, they were not visible to members of the public.
The presenter told the council that the replacement time for vehicles would drop from the current 14-year cycle to a 5-year cycle, allowing the city to recapture the resale value of it’s vehicles.
He said the city would likely save $1.2 million over the next two years.
However, Rishe said he was concerned that bids weren’t solicited by the city to ensure a competitive price.
In fact, the city piggybacked on an Orange county bid, which is allowed by the state since the original bid was competitive. Piggybacking is fairly common among municipalities.
Rishe also pointed out that the bid may be dated due to the coronavirus outbreak. He said vehicle prices were or are projected to drop and asked if that was reflected in the bid.
The representative from enterprise said any savings in vehicle costs would benefit the city, but said the bid did come in prior to the widespread outbreak.
Councilor Bill Dillabough said he’s familiar with the leasing program and said he supported it. In regard to the competitive bid, he said there aren’t many options out there.
The city will likely get a $280,000 grant to jump start the plan as an incentive for following the FRB recommendation.
Help keep St. Lawrence County informed
Until now, advertising has provided the income to pay our news staff. But with a cutback in advertising due to the COVID-19 crisis, our ability to continue free news coverage is threatened. Please donate to NorthCountryNow.com and North Country This Week so we can keep St. Lawrence County informed. Thank you.
