Council considers purchase of police cars but no money for building fund

UPDATE: The Jefferson City Council unanimously approved the fiscal year 2019 budget at its meeting on Monday night.

ORIGINAL: City leaders are slated to purchase nine police cars for the Jefferson City Police Department before Monday’s council meeting, according to the proposed budget.

Council members are scheduled to host a public hearing, and could vote on the budget for fiscal year 2019 at the meeting.

The police department requested that 14 of their 61 vehicles be replaced and the council agreed on nine through different funding sources.

Five of the nine would be funded by the budget for the next fiscal year. The other four would be funded with remaining money from fiscal 2018.

The nine vehicles had between about 95,000 and 122,000 miles recorded on April 1, JCPD Lt. Deric Heislen said. All vehicles are expected to add on about more 30,000 miles in the next year of use.

One account dedicated to city building maintenance and improvement, also called the Sinking Fund, will receive no money, as proposed in the budget.

The account, which first received money in 2017, was put in place to assist routine maintenance for city buildings. Most recently, the account was used to replace the air conditioning system in city hall.

City leaders aimed to add $300,000 each year to the fund when it was created, but have added less since 2017. After allocating $300,000 in 2017, the council added $200,000 in 2018, and has proposed no addition for 2019.

Currently the account holds about $337,000, finance director Margie Mueller said.

Money from the fund could be used for any building by a city department, including public safety resources, except for Parks and Recreation.

The proposed budget and other related actions will be considered at Monday’s Jefferson City Council meeting.