FARRELL Regional police to seek new cars

The catch is that the new cruiser must bear the sponsor's name.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
FARRELL, Pa. -- The Southwest Mercer County Regional Police Commission may have found a way to solve its cruiser fleet problem at a cost of just $1 per car.
The commission voted Tuesday to authorize Police Chief Riley Smoot to ask for eight new cruisers from a private company called Government Acquisition Inc., a Delaware-based corporation created to help government entities buy vehicles ranging from cars to boats and trucks.
The company advertises that its efforts are tied to homeland security although it has no affiliation with the federal government, Smoot said.
Here's how it works:
The commission can put in a request for a cruiser and Government Acquisition Inc. will search for sponsors on the local, regional and national levels to pay for it.
The commission's cost is just $1 per car and it keeps the car for three years, selling it back to Government Acquisitions at the end of that period for just $1.
The catch
The catch is that each car purchased must bear the name of the sponsor who purchased it, Smoot said.
The commission has been debating for months whether to buy one or two new cars or to secure three vehicles through a three-year lease arrangement, but is hard-pressed to find the money to do either.
This could resolve the problem at the cost of just $1 per car, commission members said.
Atty. Robert Tesone, commission solicitor, said he has looked into the matter and Government Acquisitions has the option not to supply a car if it can't find a sponsor for the vehicle.
The company also asks the government entity requesting vehicles to offer the names of prospective local sponsors it can contact, he said.
Eight new cars would basically replace Southwest's cruiser fleet.
Smoot said he'll ask for eight but will "jump for joy" if he just gets two.
James DeCapua, commission chairman, asked Smoot to contact other police departments that have gone through the process to see if they are satisfied.
Health benefits
In other matters, the commission noted that it hasn't had a reply from the Fraternal Order of Police regarding the status of certain health-insurance benefits added at the beginning of this year.
The commission switched insurance carriers and got a better rate that was supposed to allow it to add vision, dental and some additional life insurance to the package it offers its officers, all at the same monthly rate of $14,450 it was already paying for health insurance.
The FOP was expected to pay any additional costs above that premium level.
The commission thought the FOP had approved the deal but learned in April that it had not.
Nevertheless, police officers and their families have been using the additional benefits and the monthly premium rose to $15,555 with the commission picking up the additional $1,105 a month.
The commission sent the FOP a letter last month advising that, unless the union agrees to pick up the coverage, the additional benefits would be cut off Dec. 31, the end of the policy year.
Mayor Tom Stanton of Wheatland, a commission member, said it might be very difficult to cut off the program once it has been in place for a year.
The FOP could file a grievance and ask an arbitrator to force the commission to reinstate those services, he said.