The Town Council last week approved the purchase of a new pickup truck for the Police Department at a cost of $82,328. The price tag includes interest and $23,815 for equipping the truck for police use.
The 2026 Ford F-150 pickup truck will be financed at a 5.85% interest rate for a total annual cost of $20,582 over four years, which will come out of Capital Improvement Project funds. Androscoggin Bank in Lewiston is the lender.
New England Outfitters of Newington, N.H., will supply the truck with a graphics package and items like heavy duty bumpers, truck bed drawer system, and prisoner partition in the rear seat.
The vehicle, the department’s first pickup, will be “pursuit-rated for law enforcement purposes,” Chief David Ruger told the council at the July 28 meeting, and is also needed to transport equipment for firearms training.
Further, the truck will support transport of equipment for community events such as the Strawberry Festival and National Night Out, Ruger said, and will be useful for moving large recovered property, like bicycles, which cannot fit in existing vehicles with rear seating occupied by prisoner partitions and duty equipment.
The vote to approve that expenditure was unanimous.
