The Office of Public Health and Safety board on Jan. 15 approved the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department’s request to proceed with a financing package to acquire pursuit-rated cruiser vehicles for model year 2025.

Deputy Chief Kevin Wellington of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department told the board the city used the Hoosier Equipment Leasing Program (HELP), run through the state bond bank, to compete financing and that JPMorgan Chase won the most recent award. Wellington said the package covers the vehicles, upfitting and related parts and will be paid over multiple installment payments with one payment charged to the 2025 budget.

Wellington said manufacturers’ product lines constrained the department’s options for 2025 and that the department plans to buy Dodge Durango SUVs with a V6 engine rather than the HEMI package used in some earlier models. “If we could buy sedans, we would, but there’s none we can buy,” Wellington said, adding that the department tested demo vehicles and was satisfied with their performance.

Board members pressed staff on warranties, financing cadence and the plan for future purchases. Wellington said manufacturer warranties on fleet vehicles are typically three years or 36,000 miles and that warranty coverage on fleet conversions excludes some cosmetic items because the city disassembles and reassembles vehicles during upfitting. “Primary drive train, transmission, engine, core components are the same,” he said.

Board members also questioned whether the purchase would create overlapping loan payments across years; Wellington said the city is already paying multiple installment contracts and that the city comptroller’s office and Office of Financial Management (OFM) decide how to structure and time these financings. “They’re the ones who make those financial decisions, not us,” he said.

The board heard that the purchase will be gasoline-powered vehicles, not electric, because pursuit-rated electric vehicles are not yet widely available for mass production fleets. Wellington referenced a prior executive order and ongoing discussions with fleet services on a longer-term shift toward hybrids or electrification but said the technology and infrastructure were not ready for a 400-square-mile city’s pursuit fleet.

A board motion to approve agenda item 011525 a was made, seconded and the item was approved. The board did not record individual vote tallies in the transcript.

The approval allows IMPD and city finance staff to finalize the financing contract and move forward with procurement and upfitting under the HELP-sourced installment arrangement. Wellington said the purchase is intended to bridge the department to model year 2026, when manufacturers may again offer more pursuit-rated sedans.