The Lakeland Police Department’s patrol vehicles are going to look a little different.
The current black-and-white vehicles have reached the end of their service lives and they will be replaced with all-black vehicles with simplified graphics.
Police Chief Sam Taylor told the City Commission on Monday that Lakeland can save about $3,000 per vehicle by having the cars be a solid color.
“A lot of people don’t know that you can’t order a black-and-white car from the factory,” Taylor said. “You either have to order all-black and then send it directly to the paint shop to have the doors painted white, or you have to order all-white and send it to the paint shop and have the fenders and such painted black.”
“We had 35 Tahoes fall into our lap from a sheriff’s office in Georgia that they weren’t able to buy,” Taylor said.
With supply chain issues still plaguing the auto industry, it was too good a deal to pass up. Working with city Finance Director Mike Brossart, the department was able to find the funds to buy the vehicles a bit earlier than planned.