Due to supply chain and availability issues, the City of Lathrop went ahead and purchased five new fleet vehicles for the parks and maintenance departments ahead of council approval.

And when the council ultimately approved the expenditure at a special meeting, they added an additional two vehicles that will bring the total of new trucks being purchased to supplement the city’s aging fleet to seven – a $375,886 tab with Elk Grove/Winner Chevrolet that will allow the city’s maintenance workers to do their jobs.

Five Chevrolet Silverado 2500 utility work trucks with ladder racks and two Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD four-wheel drive trucks with headache racks and safety lighting will soon join the city’s existing fleet.

According to the staff report, part of the reason why the city rushed to execute the purchase order was that it needed to be completed by April 21 in order to qualify for the lowest possible price from General Motors.

Lathrop already had purchase orders from Modesto-based American Chevrolet to purchase the two additional trucks but the council liquidated those purchase orders unfilled due to a significant increase in price – something that has plagued the automotive industry because of supply chain issues that affect the ability to secure all of the necessary parts to finish new vehicles.

The two vehicles that were added to the tab were already allocated for in the current budget, and the council’s approval last week allocated just under $292,000 to cover the purchase of the other five.

The purchases are in addition to a new fleet of Lathrop Police Department vehicles that will be hitting the streets on July 1 – a combination of Ford and Dodge vehicles that will supplement the existing units that the City of Lathrop purchased for use by the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office as part of the contract between the two entities.

Typically, government agencies are able to work directly with dealerships to secure fleet vehicles at the price negotiated by the State of California directly with the manufacturers – ensuring that the respective agency gets the vehicles necessary at the lowest possible price.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.