El Paso County considering keeping fleet plan on track

El Paso County is digging into the budget process for the next fiscal year.

Commissioners heard from Fleet Manager Hopeton Staple Tuesday morning. He’s in charge of maintenance and upkeep of all the county’s vehicles including the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office. Staple has been in the position for just over two years now, with a focus on getting a vehicle replacement plan in place and reducing fuel and maintenance costs.

As a result Staple said the county only needs to seriously look at replacing about 35 county vehicles with more than 200,000 miles on them, and to continue the plan of replacing 30 to 35 vehicles a year to keep the fleet current and maintenance costs down. The costs coming out of the budgets of all the departments involved is expected to range from $1.2 – $1.3 million a year.

“We’ve actually procured 108 vehicles, but we’ve auctioned off 113,” Staple said. “So the goal is not to grow the fleet, but is to maintain the fleet where we have it, but to maintain it with the most fuel efficiency and the most mechanically sound vehicles.”