A Brick Police Dodge Charger (Photo: Brick Twp. Police)
Brick Township will maintain its fleet of police cars with the purchase of seven new Dodge Chargers, but has decided against purchasing new police motorcycles.
The seven cars will be purchased for $188,699 from Beyer Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep of Morristown, which was the lowest bidder, Council President Susan Lydecker said.
Questioned by a township resident as to why the police cars were not purchased at Circle Dodge, a dealership located in Brick, township Business Administrator Joanne Bergin said the dealership did not submit a bid to the township. Despite being purchased from the Morristown dealership, Bergin said, the cars can be serviced locally.
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Each of the vehicles includes a full three year, 36,000 mile warranty and a five year, 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. The cars are scheduled to be delivered to the township in mid-February.
The township replaces its police cars on a regular schedule; old Ford Crown Victorias – which are no longer manufactured – are being replaced by the Chargers. Replacing the cars on a schedule keeps the township from having to purchase large numbers of cars at once, officials say.
In addition to the Chargers, the township will purchase two Ford F-450 Super Duty four wheel drive pickup trucks from a contract with the National Joint Powers Cooperative. The two trucks will cost a combined total of $152,104 and the sale will be made with National Auto Fleet Group, the cooperative’s contractor. The trucks will be used by the Public Works department.
“When a few of our council member came on, including our current mayor, we thought it was a good department to invest in because they keep our community safe and clean,” said Lydecker.
The township declined to purchase two Harley-Davidson motorcycles for the police department, with officials saying the money set aside for them will be used elsewhere in the department.
