ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The push to make Allentown’s vehicle fleet more efficient and eco-friendly could reach the city’s police department.
Allentown this month got $60,000 from the statewide Alternative Fuel Incentive Grant program to help it buy electric vehicles. And it landed a grant of just over $60,000 to install eight chargers to be used by electric city-inspection vehicles.
The city last spring spent about $45,000 to buy an all-electric 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E for Mayor Matt Tuerk to use as his official vehicle.
The mayormobile was the first electric vehicle in Allentown’s fleet. A city spokesperson said it would be something of a pilot program after Councilman Ed Zucal lashed out at what he called Tuerk’s “luxury sports car.”
But officials are expected to ask council members in August to approve plans to buy seven electric vehicles for an official EV pilot program.
City Sustainability Coordinator Veronika Vostinak said she is working to secure tax credits to help pay for the program.
Better efficiency, performance?
Pending plans to buy two new vehicles for Allentown Police Department represent an opportunity to “have a good conversation about what a good police fleet looks like,” Controller Jeff Glazier said during a July 23 City Council committee meeting.
That includes determining the “proper size of the fleet” and establishing policy for replacing police vehicles, he said.
“Will those engines idle and last longer, yielding better performance for our officers?"Controller Jeff Glazier
Glazier acknowledged officers “use their vehicles really, really hard," but lamented that those vehicles are rarely turned off.
“We know that idling destroys engines over time,” he said. He suggested hybrid or electric vehicles could alleviate that issue.
“Will those engines idle and last longer, yielding better performance for our officers?” Glazier wondered aloud.
He said the city’s "experience is limited there,” with only one electric vehicle so far.
Replacing some gas-powered police vehicles with hybrids could make the department’s fleet “more dependable” and save the city money in the long run, the controller suggested.
Hybrids more likely: Chief
Police Chief Charles Roca quickly voiced his support for exploring hybrid cop cars.
But Allentown officers will not be driving all-electric vehicles any time soon, Roca said.
A blown battery could render an electric vehicle useless and strand an officer, but "a hybrid would be appropriate," Roca said.
Allentown City Council’s Public Works Committee recommended the full body approve the transfers that include money for two new police vehicles.
