Cass County bought four 2011 Ford Crown Victoria police interceptors Thursday night for $20,418 each, but not without some cost-conscious commissioners closely questioning Sheriff Joe Underwood.

The action also includes $15 for title fees for each vehicle purchased from Signature Ford in Owosso.
“Is it necessary we get four right now?” wondered Commissioner Dixie Ann File, R-Cassopolis.
“We normally buy four each year from the motor pool fund,” so it takes three years to rotate the fleet of a dozen.
“The money’s already been put aside,” Underwood explained. “Our vehicles are 130,000 miles and up — and that’s just miles, not hours, so it’s a safety factor. The board for the last 10 years has purchased them this way. They run 24/7, 10,000 miles a week.”
By buying them from a Macomb County state government consortium, he’s able to save $5,000 per vehicle.
Commissioner Dale Lowe, R-Niles, counted six vehicles with two purchased in March.
“We’ve got hard times coming up, Joe, and I really question the fact that we need more cars at this time,” Lowe voted no.
Underwood responded that one of those came through a Friend of the Court grant and the other was funded entirely by Howard Township.
Three to four cars are on the road per shift, the sheriff said, with more patrolling during grant periods which reimburse fuel.
“I pay you a yearly fee so at the end of those years, the county owns those vehicles. We don’t borrow money for these purchases for a particular reason. The money has already been set aside. If we leased them from Ford Motor Co., commissioners would have to pay $120,000 at the end of that three-year period instead of going to the motor pool fund.”
Commissioner Robert Ziliak, R-Milton Township, also questioned spending $5,000 for a plow for a 2005 F-250 Ford from North Side Auto Parts in Elkhart, Ind.
“That truck’s six years old,” he said. “Next thing you know, they’re going to be coming around saying they need a new truck. Swap trucks with maintenance, the sheriff’s office or the parks department so the money’s spent on a vehicle with a longer life.”
Also, Commissioner Robert Wagel, chairman of the county Board of Public Works, delivered the plaque he received Tuesday from the Southwest Michigan Commission Cass County receives for the 2011 Graham Woodhouse Intergovernmental Effort Award for the Lakes Area Sewer Authority.
The tri-county award is named for Dowagiac’s former mayor.
Chairwoman Minnie Warren, D-Pokagon Township, shared with the board an article from Wednesday’s Daily News about Gov. Rick Snyder’s “Citizen’s Guide to Michigan’s Financial Health,” an easy-to-understand, comprehensive look at the current state of Lansing finances.
“That’s what we need to do,” Warren said. “We shouldn’t have to be CPAs to understand funding at state and local levels. I thought (the emphasis on transparency) was very interesting.”
Commissioners adopted the calendar for the FY 2012 budget, from Feb. 24 when revenue forms are distributed to elected officials, department heads and agency directors to July 7, when the spending plan will be submitted to the board; a public hearing and the setting of the property tax rate on Aug. 4; and the Board of Commissioners adopting the budget Sept. 1 for the fiscal year Oct. 1, 2011-Sept. 30, 2012.
Commissioners created a budget line item in the Diamond Lake Sewer Debt Service Fund to return funds remaining after the final debt payment was made during 2010.
The refunded $3,673 included: $494.42, Calvin Township; $364.02, Jefferson Township; $882.69, LaGrange Township; and $1,932.14, Penn Township.
Dowagiac Commissioner E. Clark Cobb made the motion to release second quarter appropriations, including: $48,750, Mental Health Authority; $40,000, Department of Human Services Child Care Fund; and $37,500, Family Court Child Care Fund.
Interim Administrator Chuck Clarke said preparations are underway for the March 10 Intergovernmental Forum dinner and program.