Josephine Moore
The Register-Herald, Beckley, W.Va.
(TNS)
Mar. 28—The Beckley Common Council approved the purchase of vehicles for the police and fire departments, which they said was no easy feat in this market.
The Beckley council approved the purchase of a new fire engine for roughly $1 million. The truck will be paid for using funds from the fire levy and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.
Beckley Fire Capt. Joe Coughlin told council members that fire engines typically need replaced every 20 years.
“Like with cars, it’s getting harder to get an engine now and if you try to order one and bid it out and do the bidding process, it’s a year to get one and the price changes,” Coughlin said.
City Treasurer Billie Trump said they were able to secure the engine through a “buying cooperative” which helped bypass the long bidding process while also saving the city some money.
Trump said the Beckley Police Department has been waiting over a year for new vehicles in a purchasing process complicated by supply chain issues.
“The (police) chief put in an order over a year ago for those on state contract and then we waited a year and then the order was canceled,” Trump said.
In light of the difficulty in obtaining new police vehicles, council members approved a resolution Tuesday to forgo the usual bidding process and purchase six new vehicles for the Beckley Police Department.
The six vehicles cost about $47,000 each, Trump said.
Trump said the city was lucky to find these vehicles after being tipped off by the Oak Hill Police Department that a dealership in North Carolina had about a dozen police cruisers available.
“We had to just act because once the word gets out, everybody gets lined up to get ’em,” Trump said.
Beckley Police Chief Dean Bailey said the department has needed new vehicles for some time.
“We’ve been in such need of cars that we’ve been piecing together 10- and 12-, 13-year-old cars just to try to keep the vehicles on the road, and they’re just becoming so unsafe,” Bailey said.
Bailey said it’s been roughly two years since the department has been able to find any new vehicles as a result of supply chain issues caused by Covid. He added that inflation has significantly increased the the price for police vehicles.
The Beckley Police Department also swore in five new officers, two females and three males, on Tuesday. The new officers are Ptl. David Brooks, Ptl. Jacob Stafford, Ptl. Rheanna Murray, Ptl. Alyssa Christian and Ptl. Darryl Cooper Jr.
Bailey said this brings the total number of officers, including himself, up to 58.
He added that the department now has a total of six female officers on the force, which is “probably the most females we’ve ever had at the police department at one time.”
“Females in law enforcement is very important,” Bailey said. “I can remember when I was coming up being a policeman, we needed females and we didn’t have — nobody wanted it … But nowadays, they want to be there, and I want them to be there, and the guys appreciate that.”
Email: jmoore@register-herald.com
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