The Lakewood Village Board reversed course and approved a police chief’s request to purchase a Tesla police car, which will be the first electric police car in McHenry County.
Lakewood Police Chief Mike Roth said the police department entered into a lease agreement with Enterprise to lease three police Dodge Durango vehicles in August 2021.
Two of those vehicles have since been replaced with two more Dodge Durango vehicles in a new lease agreement with Enterprise. The new vehicles are both leased for over $900 a month each.
One of the original Dodge Durango vehicles remains in the fleet and has two years of payments remaining at an expense of $674 a month.
Roth said he would like to replace that Durango with a Tesla Model Y electric vehicle.
The police chief said each squad uses $7,500 of fuel a year and requires six oil changes a year at an average total cost of $484. Brakes are replaced every two years with an average cost of $774.
The total average yearly maintenance cost is $8,371, which would be saved if the Tesla was purchased.
Roth said the total cost for a 2025 Tesla Model Y is $50,405, which includes a Tesla charging station and floor mats.
The vehicle would be financed on a five-year payment plan for $891.78 a month with a 10% down payment.
A quote for equipment and outfitting of the Tesla was $8,980, according to village documents.
An electrical contractor quoted a fee of $2,132 for installing the electric charging station at the village’s public works.
Roth said that the vehicle qualifies for a $7,500 tax incentive. “Normally, a request for a vehicle purchase would not occur at this time of the year. In a few months this incentive may not be available. We would like to take advantage of this incentive.”
The matter went for consideration before the Lakewood Village Board during its meeting on December 10.
One member of the board said she was worried about the optics of Lakewood being the first police department in the county to have a Tesla squad car.
Another member said she did not think the timing for the purchase of the vehicle was right in terms of budgeting.
The village board voted 3-2 in favor of purchasing the vehicle but the motion failed as at least four votes were needed.
The village board reversed course and voted unanimously in favor of purchasing the vehicle during the following board meeting held last week.
Trustees debated the topic for approximately 30 minutes before the 6-0 vote was made.