Vehicle shortage has officials scrambling

Port Washington aldermen on Tuesday did something they generally don’t do — agreed to have department heads order vehicles now instead of waiting until funding is approved with the 2022 budget.

The reason is simple, global supply shortages of computer chips and other items used on building the vehicles.

“The city is no different than any other business,” City Administrator Tony Brown told the Common Council. There are supply chain issues for any number of things ... you name it.

“Some suppliers are telling us prices are going to increase, vehicle production may end at any time, deliveries are going to be delayed.”

In fact, he said, some vehicles the city ordered this spring have yet to be delivered.

“It’s possible some may not be delivered this year,” Brown said.

Street Commissioner J.D. Hoile said last week that he ordered a pickup truck in April and was told it would arrive in three months. 

“It’s still not here,” he said.

Hoile ordered two large dump trucks that were slated to be built in September, but only one came off the line complete. Of the other one, he said, “We’ll see.” 

The price of some vehicles has increased 20% from August to today, Brown told aldermen, “which equates to tens of thousands of dollars.”

On Monday, Brown said, Hoile added another twist to the situation when he said two tandem trucks the city planned to order next year won’t be available.

“We can’t get them, period, in 2022,” Brown said. “They are not available at all.”

And Ford may stop production of the police vehicles the city plans to buy at any time, he added.

Port Washington isn’t unique. Grafton Village Administrator Jesse Thyes said the village has seen delays in obtaining vehicles, particularly police squad cars.

“We’ve gotten some of them but not all of them,” he said.

There’s been little explanation, he said, “We’re just told they’re not available. I assume it has to deal with the chips and materials stuck in transit.”

The police department is in the middle of a transition from owning its squad cars to leasing them, Thyes said, a situation that will help cut costs, so he’s unsure what impact the current shortage of vehicles will have.

But the village is also planning to purchase some pickup trucks and light-duty trucks.

“Our plan is as soon as the 2022 budget is adopted, we’re going to get bids and orders in gear,” Thyes said, noting that’s something the village would normally wait until the new year to do.

The village also plans to buy a sweeper and pavement roller next year, and Thyes said he’s not sure if they will be affected by the situation.

“I don’t know if those types of equipment are experiencing delays,” he said. “We’ll see what 2022 brings.”

Port Washington officials on Tuesday agreed to order two police cars, a front loader with a wing for plowing, four pickup trucks, a tractor and a backhoe now.

The backhoe, along with an asphalt roller and tow-behind air compressor, will take the place of the two tandem trucks, Brown said.

Eliminating the two tandem trucks will remove $500,000 from the budget, he said, while the three other items will cost about $150,000.

Hoile noted that he’s talked to dealers who have told him they have more trucks on order than they can build.

“It’s weird times,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like this. The outlook for next year — I don’t know what to say. The problem is all these trucks have microchips in them. The chips are the big thing, but there are other shortages too.”

But the problem, Hoile said, is that the pieces these vehicles are replacing are old.

“We’re just hoping to keep them together until the new ones arrive,” he said.

And that, said Brown, is another challenge for the city and its budget.

“We’re going to have to sink more money into the vehicles that would otherwise be taken out of the fleet,” he said. “It’s something we wouldn’t do if we weren’t in the economy we are in.”

Next year may bring more of the same pain, he said, because even if more vehicles are available, there will be a pent-up demand.

“I don’t know how much better it will be then,” he said.