The City of Athens is partnering with law enforcement agencies in surrounding communities to support crime prevention make public dollars go further.
Athens recently changed its fleet management approach from an ownership model to a leasing model. With the arrival of several new leased police cruisers, the city council approved disposal of several higher mileage older cruisers the city owned. While no longer suitable for Athens under the new model, there were several villages in the area who were in need.
“Normally, when we trade in a cruiser, we spend several thousand dollars in labor, materials, and storage removing the detailing and police equipment from the vehicle,” said Athens Chief Nick Magruder. “The feedback from our leasing company was that would cost more than the cars were worth on trade, so we considered other options.”
In the disposal ordinance, the city council authorized donation to other law enforcement agencies as an option. Athens’ Mayor Steve Patterson, as the current president of the Mayors’ Partnership for Progress (MPP), an associations of mayors from cities and villages throughout Appalachian Ohio, reached out to some of his peers to see if they were in need. The Villages of Albany, Glouster, and Corning, all indicated they could use the cruisers so Athens made the transfer, alleviating the need for cash-strapped small governments to come up with the funds to buy cruisers.
“When these villages surrounding Athens have more law enforcement capability, they are safer, which in turn makes Athens safer,” said Mayor Patterson. “This is really a win-win for our region. We are glad we can help our fellow Appalachian communities.”