BY JIMMY SHOCKLEY, Eastern Shore Post —
The Exmore Town Council is at a stalemate over whether to pony up money to buy the town police department a Ford Mustang GT as a new patrol car.
Town Manager Pam Ward said last month that the Mustang was the least expensive option available and could be purchased from a local dealership — Preston Ford of Keller.
The town wants to purchase it with federal funding it received from the American Rescue Plan Act. The ARPA funds must be spent before the end of the year or the money has to be returned.
“We have reached out for (Dodge) Durangos and (Ford) Explorers with no luck,” Ward said, explaining why a Mustang is a consideration.
Ward also said that Dodge Chargers, which are frequently used as police vehicles but were discontinued after 2023, are again being manufactured, but are not available.
Discussions have been ongoing about replacing the town’s oldest police car, a 2016 Chevrolet Impala, with a Ford Mustang GT.
But Councilman Thomas Lewis did not like the connotations involved in the purchase of a Mustang, even if it is the least expensive and only option available.
“It’s going to portray a bad image on this town council if we let these boys get a Mustang GT,” said Lewis of the police department.
Exmore Police Chief Adam Zieger, said the town has searched several states over for typical police vehicles but have not found any.
Ward said last month the town recieved three quotes on black Mustang GTs, with a low quote of $45,547.
The town has $106,000 in remaining ARPA funds. If Exmore were to wait until after Dec. 31 of this year to buy a police car, the town would be using local taxpayer funding to do it, instead of federal funds.
Zieger recommended the Mustang GT be purchased after Mayor Douglas Greer asked for his recommendation.
“I would like to remind this council we hire these people to make recommendations,” Greer said prior to opening discussion on the matter.
“It’s not up to us to decide the cars they drive,” Greer said.
Despite this, multiple council members were not convinced that a Mustang GT was the car for the job.
An animated Lewis said that a Mustang GT is not necessary for a town that writes speeding tickets on three miles of highway with a limit of 45 mph and questioned whether or not the Impala needed to be replaced.
On the other hand, Councilwoman Claudia Andrews said, “I think it’s wrong if we don’t do this.”
Andrews and others in favor said that even though a Mustang GT is not the ideal choice, it is the only choice available before the end of the year.
The town has a rare opportunity to buy a police car without using town taxpayer money, they said.
Waiting to buy a police car that is not a Mustang GT would push the deadline to spend the ARPA funds closer to the end of the year, and that still does not guarantee finding one.
Despite the chief of police, town manager, mayor, and half the council seeming to approve of the Mustang GT purchase, no vote was taken on the matter.
There was also interest from Lewis in replacing the public works building in town, an idea that is being explored prior to November’s meeting.
