Augusta, GA Commission Members Raise Concern Over Cost Of Maintaining City Vehicles

Some Augusta, GA Commission members want to take a hard look at the price of maintaining the city’s fleet. Several raised questions on September 9 about extending the decade-old contract with First Vehicle Services after a former employee made allegations that the firm makes unnecessary repairs.

"When you’ve got a fox in the henhouse, some eggs are going to go missing," said Commissioner Marion Williams, a longtime proponent of bringing the service back in house.

First Vehicle’s proposed price for a one-year contract renewal is $3.7 million. Adding in non-contract work will bring the total annual price to approximately $5.5 million, said Ron Crowden, City Fleet Manager since 2001.

Commissioner Donnie Smith said he had learned about a vehicle whose bumper cover was replaced for a small scratch after going in the shop for an oil change. "There appears to be a financial gain by finding things that need to be fixed that were not requested by the people that put it in the shop," Smith said.

Crowden defended the performance of the company, which employs 47 people to maintain the city’s 2,255-vehicle fleet. He said vehicle repairs and maintenance are performed based on a schedule. Each time a car goes in for any service, it gets a bumper-to-bumper inspection. Non-contract work is performed when a vehicle exceeds its scheduled lifespan, which is measured in miles or years and depends on the vehicle.

Each oil change, performed at the manufacturer’s specified intervals, costs the city $12.63. Non-contract work, such as repairs caused by driver abuse, is performed at $22.79 an hour.

Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle questioned why Crowden increased the fire department’s maintenance allocation by about $240,000 this year, when the department didn’t add any vehicles. "We have to look out for how we can reduce costs and the mishandling of funds," he said. "What kills me is it’s in the contract to take the wheels off every time," when wear on today’s disc brakes is often predictable and plainly visible, Guilfoyle said.

Guilfoyle and Smith want to put the contract back out for bids. Williams wants to hire an employee to create an in-house shop to maintain vehicles.

NAFA Fleet Management Association
125 Village Blvd., Suite 200
Princeton, NJ 08540

Telephone: 609.720.0882 Fax: 609.452.8004