Plains Police Chief Shaun Emmett spoke to the town council at their recent meeting on the importance of the police department upgrading their vehicles.

“The operating costs for officer Ethan Harvey’s Ford Expedition is costing more than it’s worth,” said Emmett.

He went on to say that the operating costs had more than doubled from 2015 to 2017 in maintenance and break downs.

“Officer Harvey’s vehicle broke down on him twice within two days whilst on shift, it’s just not worth it to keep it,” he explained.

Emmett went on to explain that this particular vehicle has had many issues over its 10 years in service with the department.

Due to the conditions of the Expedition, Chief Emmett went through a number of examples most particularly the benefits of continuing to look into getting rid of the vehicle and purchasing another to replace it.

He also mentioned that it was the computer within the car that was the cause for the recent breakdowns as mentioned by the mechanic that looked at the vehicle.

The chief then proposed that the council consider upgrading the vehicle so that Harvey is able to have a reliable vehicle to continue his work when on shift or called out.

Emmett then went onto speak of what was and wasn’t done in the past with past councils and mayors due to budget constraints; yet urged them to seriously consider the long-term costs of Band-aid mechanical solutions.

Emmett also presented some options which included the possibility of applying for grants such as the “Rural Development Grant,” which would in turn help off set the costs.

Grant money, from what was understood, is the best and most efficient option of obtaining money to ensure that vehicle purchases would not break the bank.

Both the council members and the mayor agreed this is an issue that needs further consideration and advised Emmett to look more into the grants.