By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
As the budget was approved last year for the City of Great Bend, the
police department was given permission to order several vehicles for 2022
because they anticipated a delay in receiving those vehicles. Three of the
vehicles the police department ordered arrived this past January and the
department is still waiting on another.
The Great Bend Police Department has budgeted for a K-9 vehicle for fiscal
year 2022. The ordering window for vehicles was limited this year, and the
police department is unable to order a new vehicle.
Police Chief Steve Haulmark received permission from the Great Bend
City Council to purchase a used vehicle from the Kansas Highway Patrol.
"We'll use it as a spare vehicle and one used for training," said Haulmark. "Currently, when we send someone to the academy or out-of-town training, they use our spare vehicle. This vehicle would service that. The vehicle currently being used for that purpose would be repurposed for a K-9 vehicle later this year."
The city will purchase the KHP vehicle for $28,450.
The city transferred money for a patrol vehicle in 2019 and the remaining balance is $11,600. The city also sold a vehicle to the Barton County Sheriff’s Office for $17,000, giving Great Bend $28,600 in Capital Equipment Reserves.