OKLAHOMA CITY – The Transportation Division of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission downsized its fleet and donated 32 vehicles to 16 other law enforcement agencies, departments and offices.
The decision to downsize was made prior to the executive order Governor Kevin Stitt issued last May to reduce the state’s fleet inventory, said OCC spokesman Trey Davis.
Changes related to vehicle use policies reduced the number of vehicles the Corporation Commission needed for its officers, Davis said. This created an equipment savings of more than half a million dollars, he said.
All Transportation Division enforcement vehicles must now be based at ports of entry and weigh stations instead of being assigned to each enforcement officer.
“After personnel and IT-related costs, maintaining a vehicle fleet is easily one of the largest expenses for an agency,” said Brandy Wreath, the commission’s director of administration.
“We conducted a full review of our vehicle fleet to ensure we were complying with all state guidelines and that our fleet was operated and assigned efficiently. The result was a realized savings of more than $500,000 that we then budgeted for career progression within the division.”
The OCC decided to donate its vehicles to law enforcement entities struggling to replace aging fleet vehicles due to budget limitations, rather than putting the vehicles in a state surplus auction.
“It was great being able to help our brothers and sisters in blue with well-maintained police vehicles,” Wreath said. “Perhaps best of all, two other state agencies – the Department of Public Safety and the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training – also benefitted from the donation.”
The donations were made on a first-come, first-served basis. Recipients of the 32 Dodge Chargers were: CLEET, 6; DPS, 5; Atoka County Sheriff, 1; Choctaw County Sheriff, 1; Haskell County Sheriff, 2; Murray County Sheriff, 1; Boley Police Department, 1; Davis Police Department, 1; Gore Police Department, 1; Hugo Police Department, 2; Lone Grove Police Department, 2; Spiro Police Department, 2; Stigler Police Department, 2; Tonkawa Police Department, 2; Valliant Police Department, 2; and Murray State College Police Department, 1.