Coeur d'Alene's police chief may have found a way to buy a new police car without busting his budget. Police Chief Lee White has told city council members that lower than anticipated gasoline prices in recent months have created a surplus in the police department's fuel budget.
So he's asking the council to shift that money over to another account to buy an additional patrol vehicle. In his proposal, White wrote that his department should have fuel savings between $25,000-$30,000 by the end of the budget year.
That amount would very nearly pay for a Ford Explorer -which happens to be available at a local dealership - for just over $33,000. The extra expense, White said, could come from other small cuts in his department's budget.
The police chief said he has only 11 patrol vehicles used by 35 officers in four shifts a day to cover the city, and that more cars are badly needed.
A Coeur d'Alene council committee has tentatively approved the idea. It'll be taken up by the entire council next month.
