DAPHNE, Ala.—The Daphne City Council voted 6-1 in favor of appropriating $190,000 from the capital budget for the purchase of five new police vehicles.

Police Capt. Danny Bell approached the council about the purchase at a recent work session and the matter was further discussed at the last city council meeting in March. During previous meetings, Bell explained why the police department wanted to purchase Chevrolet Tahoes instead of Ford Crown Victorias and outlined the benefits of the Tahoes over other vehicles.

Council members John Lake and Derek Boulware were not present for the presentation. Lake opposed moving forward on the appropriation of funds for the vehicles because he said more research needed to be done into the make and model as well as which vendor the vehicles would be purchased from because local dealers have shown interest in selling the vehicles to the city.

“I would like to … put this on the next work session. This needs to have a little more homework done, especially considering the type of vehicle we are buying and the expense of each vehicle,” said Lake. “I have been harping ‘buy Daphne,’ ‘buy Daphne.’” 

Council president Cathy Barnette pointed out the ordinance only appropriated the funds for the vehicles, but it did not dictate where the vehicles were to be purchased from.

The police department said requests for bids have already gone out on the police vehicles to dealerships across the state, including local ones. 

Lake was still hesitant about the costs associated with the Tahoes since the vehicles only get 17 miles to the gallon.

“This is an expense that will carry on for a long time and I think it is something we need to look at really closely before we go with the Tahoe,” Lake said.

The Crown Victorias also get 17 miles to the gallon.