Council votes down purchase of Mayor’s Office vehicle
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A resolution that would allow for the mayor's office to purchase a vehicle that is currently being leased by the mayor's office was voted down by City Council during Monday's voting session.
The vehicle purchase fell under two resolutions Monday night, one allowing for an amendment to the 2026 General Fund for the purchase, and a second officially authorizing the purchase. The vehicle currently being leased is a 2023 Chevy Trailblazer, and during last week's work session when discussing the idea behind changing the lease over to a purchase, it was noted that the lease for this vehicle is up and future lease payments are expected to increase by $100. The current price for the lease of the vehicle is $339.49. The total amount for the vehicle purchase would be $18,971.05, with payment to be made from the 2026 General Fund Capital Outlay account.
The mayor’s vehicle is typically used to attend meetings locally and in Chautauqua County, with other city employees also able to use the vehicle. It is used to attend monthly meetings in Buffalo as a board member of the state Regional Economic Development Council, with a minimum of at least one other staff member but sometimes three riding along; monthly meetings of Southern Tier West in Salamanca; miscellaneous travel throughout the county for meetings with staff traveling with the mayor to some of the meetings; miscellaneous travel for training and public events to represent the city; and non-office hour travel and weekends that may be tied to city business.
Other city staff also use the mayor's vehicle.
This lease was brought up a few years ago as well in 2023, and Councilman Andrew Faulkner, R-Ward 6, said he voted against it back then and would be voting against it again at Monday's voting session.
"Tonight we're being asked to spend nearly $19,000 from our 2026 Contingency Account to purchase the vehicle," Faulkner said. "Meanwhile, the proposed 2027 budget could potentially be using $2.7 million from that fund while raising property taxes an excess of 7%."
Faulkner said he understood that purchasing the vehicle eliminates the lease payments, but added it does nothing for the future fuel, maintenance and insurance costs.
"I also understand that $19,000 won't solve our budget problems, but we need to find savings wherever we can, and I feel that's a start," Faulkner said. "I was concerned about the cost of a city funded vehicle back in 2023 and I have the same concerns today."
In addition to the $18,971 purchase price, the mayor’s office included in its analysis a an estimated future yearly cost spread of depreciation over the life of the vehicle, which is estimated seven years additional years of use, would total of $2,710.15, the total cost would be $21,681.20. The cost of a new lease for 2026-2029 would be $22,831.02.
Purchasing the vehicle in 2026 leaves the cost of gas, insurance and maintenance to be paid in 2027, 2028 and 2029, which the mayor's office says would be $2,142 in 2027 and is estimated to be $2,209.56 in 2028 and $2,279 in 2028 for a three-year average of $6,631.02. The three-year average cost of a new lease would be $7,610.34 a year, according to the analysis put together by Ecklund and City Comptroller Ericka Thomas. The three-year average cost of paying mileage to the mayor and city staff is estimated to be about $7,739.20 a year.
Also included in the analysis is what it would cost to pay mileage for the mayor and city staff to use their own vehicles. Ecklund says there is a risk of liability to using private vehicles for city business while being paid mileage, though the state Public Officers Law provides some legal defense and indemnification protections for city officers and employees acting within the scope of their official duties. If there were to be an accident, though, private coverage could increase in cost or be canceled altogether as well as the risk of a personal lawsuit by passengers or another party. The three-year cost to use private vehicles and pay mileage, according to the mayor’s analysis, is estimated to be $23,217.59 for all staff and $16,917.59 solely for the mayor – though the analysis states the city officials ride share as often as possible. The estimated cost per year to pay mileage is about $7,739.20 a year.
Not passing the vehicle buyout, Ecklund said in her analysis, would result in an $818.45 shortfall in 2026 and result in additional costs of $3,228.66 for the mayor’s office and $5,228.66 with mileage including staff members.
The resolution to amend the 2026 General Fund budget for the vehicle purchase did not pass the city council's vote, which also led to the resolution officially allowing the purchase to be pulled from the voting session agenda.