Hoping to save money on ever-rising vehicle prices, the Wood County Sheriff’s Dept. asked county commissioners Tuesday to transfer contingency funds for the purchase of four patrol vehicles.

Commissioners decided to wait and see how rising medical costs will impact the county’s fund balance before making a decision.

Budget workshops were set to begin Thursday morning (see related stories).

Lt. Miles Tucker explained that there are production shortages for General Motors, which makes the popular Chevrolet Tahoe police package. The new base model is expected to be at least $10,000 to $15,000 more on the state bid board this fall.

The department has located a few older-model vehicles, but Tucker said those will not be available in October when the new budget takes effect.

He said the department anticipates having a little left over at the end of the budget cycle Sept. 30, and is asking for an advance on the 2025 budget.

Tucker said the department was able to add four new vehicles through the state grant program for rural departments. Those vehicles had been sitting at the outfitters (adding lights, radios, etc.) for more than a year.

The department is still playing catch up from the prior administration, Tucker explained, which ordered new vehicles for administration and criminal investigations (CID) rather than replacing high-mileage patrol vehicles.

Those vehicles required a lot of maintenance, he said, and have just about been phased out.

He noted Sheriff Kelly Cole has authorized used vehicles for administration and CID.

“It’s been a process trying to get rid of them,” Tucker said of patrol vehicles, some with upwards of 180,000 miles.

The base price on Tahoes which was $36,000 four years ago has risen to $62,000 and is expected to go to $75,000 to $80,000. Another popular police package, the Ford Explorer, can no longer be found on the market.

The department has identified a police package pickup as a replacement, which costs much less than the sport utility vehicles.

Auditor Terri Sellars said, “It doesn’t look good,” of the contingency fund which will be needed to cover the county’s employee medical expenses.

In just the last two-week billing cycle, the county’ medical expenses were $237,007.

County Judge Kevin White said the contingency fund also helps pay for county jail prisoners to be housed in other counties when the county jail is full.

He said it has been running 25-30 inmates per month but has dropped to 15.

Tucker said the county is minimizing what prisoners it accepts, limiting misdemeanor arrests and out-of-county warrants.