Waldoboro Police Chief Bill Labombarde addresses the Waldoboro Board of Selectmen. (Alexander Violo photo)
The Waldoboro Board of Selectmen voted to follow the police chief’s recommendation and award a bid for a new police cruiser to Newcastle Chrysler Dodge Jeep.
The vehicle in question is a 2017 Dodge Charger with all-wheel-drive for a net cost of $21,796. The net cost factors in the trade-in value of an older cruiser.
“What we saved from the top to the bottom is about $4,000, $3,500. I can outfit the car with that so I won’t be going deeper into the capital reserve budget. We have the money in our capital reserve and that is the car I am recommending to the board,” Labombarde said.
He said it costs roughly $3,200 to outfit the car for the department’s needs.
“We have to get new brackets for the light bar, we have to get a new console, and an adapter kit for the cage,” Labombarde said.
According to Labombarde, the department requested bids from seven dealerships and four responded.
“This year we had a nice response to our bids going out,” Labombarde said.
He said Newcastle Chrysler, Quirk, Shepard, and Wiscasset Ford submitted bids.
Labombarde said there will be an eight- to 12-week turnaround for the new vehicle, with the car ready by Thanksgiving in the best case or New Year’s in the worst.
The chief said the cruiser being replaced has a different radio from the department’s other units and he hopes to standardize the equipment with the new vehicle.
“If I can save enough in the whole package, I would like to get a mobile repeater,” Labombarde said.
Selectman Robert Butler asked whether the new cruiser would have a camera in it, and Labombarde said it would.
