I was around here when MP PD was using 150HP V6 Ford Tauruses for police cars. (Now you can get 4-banger Chevy Malibus that put out as much HP and go as fast).

“The Park where illegal means legal.”
“Come to the City where we welcome with open arms, illegals.”
“Legals? We don’t need no stinking legals.”
Welcome to the Park, go home if you are not illegal.”

Since you don’t seem to understand the budget process, the PD is given a mark and generally some broad guidelines in the form of line items. Changes to the manner in which the department chooses to spend their allocation are generally not up to the governing board but rather the chief who manages the department, that’s why you have a chief TO MANAGE THE DEPARTMENT for the city, unless of course you would prefer the governing board micro-managing the department. I highly doubt that the PD will hire a new officer just to drive the vehicle, thus there are no additional personnel costs and the maintenance, insurance and fuel costs are marginal. Those marginal costs are offset by the positives of any community interaction that are enhanced by the vehicle at a PR or outreach event.

What’s next, you want the PD to trade in their Crown Vics for some hybrids, after all there really is no need to go above 45 in MP so lets just lose the big V-8’s and save some expensive gas. Perhaps the liability insurance the city pays as a result of officers carrying firearms is too much for you, maybe you should suggest we make them unarmed London style bobbys.

BTW, if I’m not mistaken, I thought I read an article that gave the name of the suspect who broke into Dominion Arms. Funny thing is his name didn’t seem to be Hispanic, err, that of an illegal alien in your lexicon. But look on the bright side, if he’s a member of HSM, at least he won’t be arming those dangerous Zapatistas