By Josh Cain

The Oakland City Council will examine a funding plan that would allow the city to replace 153 of its aging vehicles and help offset millions in projected maintenance spending.

The city is pursuing the replacement vehicles despite a $7.7 million negative balance in its equipment fund. That number is up from a $16.4 million-low in 2008. Without adequate funding available, city staff has pursued a 10-year, $11.8 million lease that would start with a $3 million payment next year and smaller payments thereafter.

Despite the lack of funding, a Public Works Department report claims that spending the money now to replace the city's most critical vehicles will offset its skyrocketing maintenance costs. The price tag for the all of the repairs to its fleet was pushed up to more than $25 million this year.

According to the PWA report, the city's fleet averages 10.7 years old and more than half of its vehicles are past their service lengths.

The Oakland Police Department is requesting the most replacements - it wants more than 70 marked and eight unmarked cops cars. The next highest number is for Parking Enforcement, which wants 36 new vehicles.

OPD also has in mind what models it want to replace the Crown Victoria sedans it uses now - either the Dodge Charger Pursuit or the Ford Police Interceptor. OPD representatives at the meeting expressed reservation with the Pursuit, however, saying that police forces in Hayward and elsewhere have had recent problems with the model.

An OPD sergeant at the meeting said that all of the units the force is looking to replace are 2007 Crown Victorias, all logging more than 100,000 miles.