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FAS-016 - Vehicle Policy Amendment - Vehicle Identification_2007SAINT 101 IN Subject: Vehicle Identification Amendment Category: Policy Policy No.: FAS -016 M&C Report No.: 2007-134 Effective Date: 2007-05-07 Next Review Date: (3 years) Area(s) this policy applies to: Finance and Office Responsible for review of this Policy: Fleet Administrative Services Management Related Instruments: Vehicle Policy Policy Sponsor: Document Pages: This document consists of 9 pages. Revision History: Vehicle Policy—Adopted November 26, 1990 Vehicle Identification Amendment — May 7, 2007 Common Clerk's Annotation for Official eRecord Date of Passage of Amendment to Policy: May 7, 2007 1 certify that this Policy was adopted by Common Council as indicated above. _June 7, 2017 Common Clerk Date Date Created: Common Council Approval Date: Contact: 2007-05-04 2007-05-07 Fleet Management Manager TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. COUNCIL RESOLUTION.................................................................................................................1 2. COUNCIL REPORT.........................................................................................................................2 3. POLICY..........................................................................................................................................6 POLICY —CITY VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION Common Council Meeting — May 7, 2007 RESOLVED that as recommended by the City Manager, the City of Saint John Vehicle Policy be amended in order to better provide for vehicle identification, and specifically articles 4.2 and 4.3 of section 4.0 GUIDELINES, be replaced with the recommended articles as contained in the submitted statement. REPORT TO COMMON COUNCIL M & C — 2007-134 4 May 2007 His Worship Norman McFarlane and Members of Common Council Your Worship and Councillors: SUBJECT: Vehicle Identification BACKGROUND: 0147 { R,�51Ah'ti City of saint john At its regularly scheduled meeting of Monday May 15, 1995, Common Council adopted a resolution which saw a change to the City's Vehicle Policy as it related to the identification of vehicles within the fleet. At the time of the change all cars and light trucks, with certain exceptions, were painted the same colour as the larger trucks and construction equipment, ie School Bus Yellow. A review of this practice illustrated the additional cost incurred by the City to have these vehicles painted prior to delivery. At the time the successful bidders would order the cars and trucks awarded to them to be delivered white. Upon delivery these vehicles would be painted, inside and out, yellow. Once delivered to the City the necessary city crest decals, departmental identifiers and numbers would be applied by City forces. The additional cost per vehicle for this level of standardization was estimated, given the size and configuration of the vehicle, to be between $800.00 and $1,500.00. The adopted change saw the elimination of the need for all vehicles to be supplied in the standard yellow colour and be replaced with vehicles which were in keeping with the manufacturer's standard fleet colours. Individual departments were to be identified by their chosen colours, for example; Municipal Operations vehicles in this category were to be delivered with a standard manufacturers fleet dark blue, Leisure Services vehicles were to be manufacturers green and so on. Page Two ANALYSIS: In recent years it has become obvious that there is no consistency between the manufacturer's for colour tones. The dark greens and blues of the late 90's and early 2000's have given way to more pastel colours. In addition the Ford blue, the GM blue and the Chrysler blue are all different. This has, in recent years, lead to a rainbow effect within the fleet and little consistency within departments. In addition, staff has experienced, in 2006 and again in 2007, situations where the low bidder, in 2 cases, and the next low bidder have been unable to meet the City's fleet colour needs, neither one manufactures a green car! Staff has spent considerable time exploring alternatives as a means of addressing what is quickly becoming a major problem. We believe the following solution to Fleet Identification will prove to have more longevity than the previous recommendation and will be a very cost effective approach. It is recommended that the City's Vehicle Policy be amended, on a go forward bases, to eliminate any reference to various departmental colours and that a consistent colour, white, be applied to all new vehicles purchased within this category. All new cars and light trucks, with the exception of larger construction vehicles and those noted in the attached recommended revised policy statement, will be purchased as manufacturer's standard fleet white. No vehicles presently in the fleet will be repainted unless major body repairs require a complete repainting job. WHY WHITE? There are a number of reasons for this recommendation but some of the more important ones are; • A white vehicle shows off vehicle numbers and decals better than a coloured vehicle will. This has been a problem for years. The present decals do not show up well on dark coloured vehicles. • According to some industry representatives a white vehicle will recover more upon resale. There appears, on resale, to be a higher demand for white cars and light trucks. It is suggested this may be due to the fact that white vehicle are easier and less expensive to repaint. • There are more white vehicles produced annually, for the commercial market, than any other individual colour and therefore delivery times may be shortened as a result. • Other City related agencies and large vehicle fleets have already switched to white vehicles, Saint John Energy and Aliant for example. • A large number of City owned vehicles are already purchased white, Sanitation Packers, Building Inspection vehicles, Saint John Police Force patrol units. Page Three VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION: In addition to a change in fleet colours the enclosed proposed policy change also addresses the way in which the fleet is presented to the public. At present all vehicles purchased by the City and employed by city forces in the delivery of services to the public are identified through the application of the official City of Saint John Crest decal. It is proposed that this decal be replaced, for general fleet application, with the Explorer logo. There will of course be some exceptions to this as outlined in the enclosed proposed policy and including as noted below, Saint John Water. INPUT FROM OTHERS: 2015 Committee — "The Explorer Logo was developed as a visual representation of the brand for Saint John. The brand proposition was developed as part of the regional growth strategy in 2003. The brand is built on one of Saint John's core values, its pioneering spirit and the logo was meant to be an expression of this. It is rooted in the sense of self that comes from being the oldest incorporated city in Canada. As natural merchants, Saint Johners have always thrived in the spirit of entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation. Also, as an international seaport, Saint John welcomes people from around the world to live in a cooperative, caring social network that provides the foundation for a better way of life. The expanded use of the Explorer Logo is an effort by the City to promote this brand proposition and building a unified focus on growing our community" Saint John Water — "As noted in a Communications Plan of 2005 that was completed for Saint John Water; it is important the public understand clearly who is delivering their water and wastewater services, and how the rates they pay are allowing staff to make a difference for the community of Saint John. There is a particular need to establish this identity given the rates/funds paid are separate and distinct from the general property tax rate funds. Considering this, it is recommended that a recognizable identity be established for Saint John Water by placing the new Saint John Water logo on the drivers and passengers side doors of the vehicle. This new identity would support Saint John Water's place within the City's operation but distinguish the unique services it provides." Page Four FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Cost should not be a determining factor as the focus of the proposed changes is to standardize on one colour for the City's fleet of cars and light trucks, and since the recommendation is to purchase one manufacturers fleet colour, as opposed to purchasing a variety of manufacturers fleet colours, there will be no financial impact. As well, the supplier of City Crest Decals was contacted in order to provide a comparison between the cost of the crests and the Explorer logo. It has been determined that the Explorer logo, given it requires only two colour printing, compared to the 5 colours in the City Crest, is 30 % cheaper. RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the City of Saint John Vehicle Policy be amended in order to better provide for vehicle identification, and specifically articles 4.2 and 4.3 of section 4.0 GUIDELINES be replaced with the recommended articles as contained in the attached statement. Respectfully submitted, David Logan, CPPB Purchasing Agent/Manager Materials and Fleet Management T.L. Totten, FCA City Manager SUBJECT: CITY of SAINT JOHN VEHICLE POLICY SECTION 4.0 GUIDELINES Whereas; there presently exists an administrative procedure that addresses specifically the colours of certain vehicles as departmental identifiers, and Whereas; the existing procedure has become difficult to administer given changes in the market place, and Whereas; the 2015 initiative supports a common or standardized image for the City of Saint John, and Whereas; the stakeholders support a change in fleet identification; the following change to the City of Saint John Fleet Policy — Sections 4.2 and 4.3 of the Guidelines are proposed; 4.2 All vehicles will be appropriately identified as follows; 1) Cars and light trucks, up to and including the 1 tonne range of vehicles, shall be purchased to a standard manufacturer fleet colour of white, 2) The City of Saint John crest presently applied to vehicles, shall be replaced with the official "Explorer Crest". This crest must be prominently displayed on the front driver's, and passenger's doors, and include the words "Saint John" which are to be placed directly under the crest, 3) Each vehicle in this category shall be identified with a 3 digit "vehicle number" in the form of a numeric decal clearly displayed on each of the front fenders and in an appropriate location at the rear of the vehicle as determined by its configuration. This vehicle number is assigned by the user departments and may change throughout the life of the vehicle, 4) Each vehicle in this category shall be assigned a 4 digit "Equipment Number" which will be displayed in the form of a self adhesive tag applied in close proximity to the fuel fill pipe. This number is assigned by Fleet Administration upon registration of the vehicle and shall remain unchanged throughout the life of the vehicle, 5) Vehicles in this category, shall, as deemed necessary by the Fleet Administrator, be affixed with a high intensity, reflective stripe down each side and across the rear of the vehicle. This high intensity stripe is to be white so as not to act as a department identifier or to add to or detract from the appearance of the vehicle, 6) Vehicles in this category and purchased for use by Saint John Water may deviate from the policy as it relates to the application of the `Explorer Crest". Saint John Water may replace the "Explorer Crest" with the Saint John Water Logo. -2- 4.3 Exemptions from section 4.2 of this guideline are; 1) Vehicles purchased for use by the Saint John Police Force and the Saint John Fire Department, 2) Vehicles assigned to the Mayor, the City Manager and any unmarked vehicles assigned to specific senior management staff, as approved by the City Manager, 3) Commercially rented vehicles, 4) The paint colour of trucks of a size greater than the 1 tonne range of vehicles shall remain unchanged, 5) The paint colour of construction equipment, trailers and floats, attachments and miscellaneous equipment shall remain unchanged.