New Police Cruisers

Drive into the Danbury Police Department's elevated parking deck and what you see is almost wall-to-wall new cruisers.

Eleven new cruisers meet the eye, and two black unmarked cars are now sitting beside the eleven black and whites.

"We bought them in cooperation with the state," said Chick Volpe, Danbury's purchasing agent.

Volpe said the cruisers cost about $22,800 each, but that is without the paint job, the roof take-down lights, and all the inside equipment that makes a cruiser a cruiser. Volpe said the last time Danbury bought that equipment, the final details cost about $8,155 per cruiser.

"We used to buy them on our own, but we can't touch what the state can do any more. They contact all the towns," Volpe said. "It's about a $30,000 buy when you're done."

In addition to getting a lower price per car, the city saves money by not administering the bidding process.

In a tough budget year, it may appear that buying nearly $300,000 worth of cruisers is a bit too costly.

"Not so," said Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton. "I skipped it one year and it was a disaster. The repair costs made it a bad decision."

Boughton said every year the city replaces some of its cruisers, and it is simply an essential public safety expense.

"You have to roll over your fleet  or it ends up costing you more," Boughton said.