Shared Fleet Maintenance Saves Municipalities Money
The Cumberland County Improvement Authority (CCIA) Fleet Maintenance Services, which offers fiscal advantages to more local governments in Cumberland County that choose this vehicle maintenance option, continue to grow.
According to CCIA President and CEO Gerard Velazquez, shared fleet service maintenance has become more widespread in New Jersey in the last several years because of its economic benefits and the underlying taxpayer relief. By having all the maintenance centrally performed, fixed costs such as facilities and labor are spread across a wider base, decreasing the cost to each entity involved.
In addition to the fleet maintenance services, the CCIA recently opened a truck wash station as an added amenity. This feature can augment the life-extension of municipal and county vehicles participating in the CCIA fleet maintenance program and is open to commercial vehicles doing business at the Solid Waste Complex in Rosenhayn.
“This maintenance feature offers municipalities and private waste haulers an opportunity to extend the life of their vehicles,” Velazquez said. “It also ensures more vehicles leaving the landfill are in cleaner condition as they travel through our communities.”
Government entities are taking advantage of this fleet program offering preventive maintenance and complete repair services for the vehicles of its partners, including heavy machinery, equipment, cars, trucks, and utility vehicles. The expanded fleet maintenance partner list now includes Cumberland County, (including Cumberland Area Transport System buses), the City of Vineland, Vineland Municipal Utilities, Landis Sewerage Authority, the City Bridgeton, Millville Housing Authority, Fairfield Township, and Hopewell Township.
“We are always interested in building cost-saving partnerships like this with local governments that directly benefit them by providing a valued service that will both save money for the municipalities and enhance close working relationships between them,” Velazquez said.
The Improvement Authority’s push for this shared service option started in 2015 when it began to handle the maintenance of all Cumberland County government vehicles. The cost saving in that arrangement gradually led to this expansion that now offers smaller communities savings in the preservation of their fleets.
Having provided shared services for the county and local governments with its Solid Waste Complex, the CCIA now also provides resources to devote toward the advancement of the county’s economic development, building financing, project development, property management, marketing and other significant growth efforts.
Velazquez said the CCIA is making an effort to be strategic in ensuring adequate resources for shared services like this program. He noted that two Cumberland County Technical Education Center students were hired as full-time mechanics. “We continue to identify, execute and manage these types of shared service projects to create economies of scale and to enable us to contribute more than $1.5 million back to the county each year,” said Velazquez.