Norfolk’s Department of Public Works (DPW) has implemented new budget-saving actions to prolong the life of the town’s current vehicle fleet.

The DPW assessed its vehicle fleet and formed a plan over the past year to save taxpayers money by using in-house repairs to cut costs and extend the life of some of the vehicles by up to 10 years.

Several vehicles needed significant repairs for major rust issues associated with winter conditions. To date, a 2013 Ford F-250 pickup truck and a Ford F-550 dump truck have already been refurbished, with the pickup truck having been successfully repaired and on the roads this winter.

A replacement F-250 is roughly $55,000 and a replacement F-550 is approximately $85,000. The repairs done to both vehicles total less than $8,000, thus saving thousands of dollars per vehicle.

“With several vehicles needing repairs, we wanted to explore other options that would allow us to fix the vehicles at a lower cost to the department, town and taxpayers,” DPW Director Blair Crane said. “After repairing the first vehicle in-house successfully last fall, it occurred to us that this was a way to significantly reduce a potentially large financial burden on our taxpayers.”

The Vehicle Maintenance Division, which consists of Foreman Todd Erickson and Fleet Mechanic Wayne Walker, conducted the repairs on the DPW vehicles. These two employees are also responsible for the upkeep of the town’s entire fleet of vehicles, including fire trucks, ambulances, police cruisers, DPW trucks and equipment, and more.

“The work these two employees have done, particularly to extend the life of the DPW vehicles, is a testament to their drive and dedication to the town and its residents,” Town Administrator Justin Casanova-Davis said. “We are thankful for their hard work and the diligence by DPW leadership in finding solutions that will save thousands of dollars for taxpayers over the next 10 years.”