Anchorage Assembly to vote Aug. 4 on $1.88M for 27 police SUVs

Assembly to Vote on $1.88 Million Police Fleet Replacement

Twenty-seven aging Anchorage police SUVs would be replaced under a $1,880,709 purchase the Anchorage Assembly is scheduled to vote on Aug. 4.

The order covers 17 patrol SUVs, one K-9 SUV, six patrol sergeant SUVs and three unmarked commander SUVs, all Dodge Durango police pursuit vehicles bought from Anchorage Chrysler Center under a State of Alaska contract.

None of them expands the fleet. "These are not additional vehicles to the Fleet but replacements for high mileage life cycled out vehicles," Fleet Manager Lee Lutkowski wrote in a July 9 memo to Purchasing Director Chris Hunter. The assembly memorandum describes the units being replaced as end-of-life because of high mileage and high failure rates.

Buying through the state contract yields a per-unit discount of $8,913 on patrol vehicles and $9,008 on the K-9, sergeant and commander vehicles. Delivery is anticipated within 270 days of order placement.

Funding comes from 2025 and 2026 Fleet Capital Funds and the remaining balance of APD transfer funding.

Mayor Suzanne LaFrance submitted the purchase request. Municipal Manager William D. Falsey and Public Works Director Kent Kohlhase concurred. The Assembly takes public testimony on the measure at its Aug. 4 meeting.