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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The city could potentially save hundreds of thousands of dollars by leasing its fleet of Department of Public Works vehicles, council was told Tuesday.</p><p>The program differs from closed-end leases through dealers and instead offers open-end financing, explained Nick Gilbert, a senior account executive with Enterprise Fleet Management&#8217;s Harrisburg office. </p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re essentially a bank leasing vehicles back to you guys,&#8221; Gilbert told council during its work session. The company participates in the Interlocal Purchasing System that has the same procurement standards as the state&#8217;s COSTARS cooperative purchasing program, he said.</p><p>The company aims to reduce down time and maintenance costs and updates the fleet with new vehicles, Gilbert said, adding &#8220;That&#8217;s where we&#8217;re going to save you the most money.&#8221;</p><p>Ed Feist, director of finance with Enterprise, estimated the savings at $400,000 through fixed budget maintenance and resale over 10 years for the full fleet of 24 vehicles. When Enterprise resells a vehicle at the end of lease for more than the book value, the city receives the excess proceeds.</p><p>Rick Gazenski, city administrator, and Butch Frati, director of operations for the city, supported the proposal.</p><p>&#8220;The timing of this whole thing is now,&#8221; said Frati, explaining the time it takes to order and equip vehicles, such as garbage compactors. &#8220;We really need council to look at this now and make a decision now so we know what direction to go.&#8221;</p><p>Gilbert pointed out the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority and Lackawanna County participate in Enterprise&#8217;s program. He also also noted the urgency for council to act. Manufacturers increase the cost of vehicles throughout the model year and that would affect the savings to the city, he said.</p><p>Council asked Gazenski to check with the city&#8217;s financial adviser, the PFM Group, about the proposal before putting it on the agenda for Thursday&#8217;s public meeting.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL120618Gazenski1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Gazenski </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL120618Gazenski1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Gazenski </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wilkes-Barre council hears of potential savings via leasing DPW vehicles