NAHUNTA — Enterprise, best known for its Rent-A-Car business, and the Brantley County Commission agree to a business venture with the national company’s Fleet Management division.
Jean Bordes presented the board options of replacing the County fleet with the Sheriff’s Office, EMS and other county offices during the Tuesday, November 4 county work session.
“We’ve (Jacksonville-based Enterprise) been working with your local team to see if even a partnership makes sense,” Bordes told commissioners. “We’re not a good fit for everybody. We look for opportunities where we can provide operational efficiencies. We want it to be a cost savings.”
Bordes said Fleet Management is not advertised like the rental department. Instead, they make phone calls, go to communities, and try to build relationships.
“That’s how we get people to know about who we are and what we do,” he said. “What we do is we aim to assist organizations. The goal is to see if we can help you operate safer, more reliable vehicles, while allowing you to focus on your core business of running the county.” According to Bordes, Enterprise’s Fleet Management division is working with the Bacon County, Brooks County, Pierce County, the City of Bainbridge and Lake City, Fla.
The Fleet Management division manages 800,000 vehicles for government entities and commercial companies.
Bordes told commissioners that after the data, 20 percent of the 42-vehicle fleet is about 10 years old.
“The average age is six years old due to your efforts over the last six years,” he said. “Prior to 2019 you averaged about one vehicle a year. Since 2019 you’ve averaged about three vehicles a year. In 2022 you bought seven vehicles. That’s a huge spike with a large capital outlay.
“Our goal is to help you have more predictable budget year. So you take the 42 divided by three, that gives you the 14. You’re going to 14-yearold vehicles by the end of the rotation.”
Bordes said Fleet Management put together a 10-year analysis to look to see if there’s a way Enterprise can save the county money and help you reduce the cycle from 13 years to somewhere around five years.
“When we did the analysis, it showed that we can save you anywhere between $180,000 to $300,000 over the next 10 years by transitioning to a lease structure,” stated Bordes. “We have an open ended lease. Some people call it a municipality lease. What that means is there’s no wear and tear penalties, there’s no mileage restrictions.
“The only difference is more miles less the vehicle is worth when we sell it. On your behalf, all the equity belongs to the county, not Enterprise. We get a flat fee of $400 to sell the vehicle on your behalf. So, if you sell it for 20k you get $19,600 we get $400. You can replace it, take the money and put it into another vehicle, or you can take the money and put in your general fund.
“Brantley County currently has in their fleet about $800,000 of equity in your 42 vehicles. Let’s use this $800,000 to supplement your current budget. We can do so much more with less, and the overall goal is to save taxpayers dollars.”
According to Bordes, Fleet Management identified 11 vehicles which could be replaced with three 4x4 Super Crew F150s and eight regular police vehicles for a total lease of $151,000 (eight vehicles).
“We were looking at buying three vehicles, two sheriff’s vehicles and one for public works for $150,000,” said County Manager Joey Cason.
Bordes broke down the $151,00 saying the county could have anywhere from $1,500 to $3,000 per vehicle through Enterprise bypassing dealer fees minus all of your concessions and incentives.
“You don’t make a payment until the vehicle is in your possession,” said Bordes. “Your first payment will probably be around May. So from May to December, your lease payments would be $101,000. We would sell those 11 vehicles that are worth an estimated $121,000.”
Commissioners agreed to lease agreement with Enterprise Fleet Management during the Thursday, November 6 meeting to sign the lease for fleet vehicles. The lease will be paid out of the 2025 SPLOST (Special Local Option Sales Tax).
“If the sheriff isn’t happy or anybody else isn’t happy with it, we don’t have to renew,” said Cason. “We just take the first lease, and at the end of that five-year period, we let them (Enterprise) sell them, or we sell them, and we keep doing what’s always been done in the past.”
