Page 182 - City of Fort Worth Budget Book

Internal Service Funds Fleet and Equipment Services

The Equipment Services Fund is principally sustained by revenues received from the interdepartmental billing of
departments. As an Internal Service Fund, the majority of Equipment Services’ operating funds come from
interdepartmental charges from other city departments for fuel, parts, and other vehicle and equipment- related
services. The application of an overhead charge to all vehicle repair parts, fuel, and outside services, as well as
an annual administrative fee assessed on most numbered vehicles and equipment, allows Fleet Services to
support its general, non-department specific administrative functions.

Fleet Services operates the following five locations throughout the city of Fort Worth: James Avenue Service
Center, Southside Service Center, Water Service Center, North Service Center and Brennan Avenue body shop.
Each of the Service Centers provides repair, maintenance, in-servicing and out-processing of fleet assets. The
Brennan Avenue body shop location provides accident repair along with asset salvage and auction processing.
Fleet services not only operates service and maintenance functions, but all centers provide onsite fueling stations.
Petroleum availability includes; unleaded fuel, low Sulphur diesel, DEF additive, and propane. In addition, Fleet
Services operates a non-manned fueling site in Southeast Fort Worth which includes a slow-fill compressed
natural gas station.

In a continuing effort to provide the best possible fleet services, the Fleet Services division also contracts a wide
variety of fleet-related services to outside entities when contracting is deemed the most efficient and effective
means to provide the required service. Maintenance and repair services are contracted out for the following
reasons:

• The required expertise is not available in-house including proprietary diagnostic needs.
• Substantial capital investment would be necessary to perform the service in-house.
• The service could be performed less expensively by an outside vendor.

• Workload overflow relief as needed.
As part of the strategy, Fleet Services privatized its parts inventory system at the end of FY2002. The FY2024
budget contains the continuation of that program. Integrated Business Solutions (NAPA Genuine Parts Company),
as the current contracted provider, supplies the Fleet Division with vehicle and equipment parts.

In FY1996, Fleet Services implemented a robust vehicle replacement plan. As part of the plan, the Fleet
Acquisition section, which during FY2022 was transferred to the General Services Division, analyzes the entire
city fleet, evaluating each vehicle’s maintenance costs, useful life, mileage, downtime, and with other determining
factors to determine a replacement rating. Based on this yearly analysis, the vehicles and equipment are
prioritized for replacement. The Fleet Acquisition section subsequently meets with each department to review and
fine-tune the replacement rankings. The replacement lists are consolidated to determine replacement vehicle
priorities for the coming fiscal year.

Additionally, to stabilize budgeting for major purchases in vehicles and equipment, the city created a Vehicle and
Equipment Replacement Fund (VERF) in FY2014. This provides a systematic, citywide approach to procurement
and disposition of fleet, as well as ensures adequate funds are available to purchase vehicles and equipment.

FY2024 DISCUSSION AND SIGNIFICANT CHANGES

The Recommended Budget:
• Increases by $111,376 and one authorized position from the conversion of an overage Buyer position

• Increases by $918,864 for salaries and benefits
• Increases by $397,934 for Citywide vehicle and equipment services outside repair and maintenance
• Increases by $344,941 due to increased fuel costs Citywide
• Increases by $264,060 for Citywide vehicle and equipment repair and maintenance parts

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