Chelsea Approves New Police Vehicle Purchase

Chelsea City Council approved the purchase of a 2026 Ford Explorer for the Chelsea Police Department at the April 6 special meeting. This decision came after repairs on a vehicle currently owned by the CPD were deemed “not cost effective” due to “high mileage and ongoing transmission issues” according to Police Chief Kevin Kazyak.

“This was not a budgeted item in the 2025-2026 budget, but at the March 23 Council meeting, Finance Director Watkins made some budget adjustments and was able to secure the funds for this purchase,” Kazyak said.

While police vehicles pulled from CPD service often go to another Chelsea city department, the damage to the unit is too extensive. Instead, it will go to auction.

“It probably won’t get a great amount, but it does have some part value,” Kazyak said. “A lot of the different companies out there that utilize those for whatever they’re using it for look for those parts. So it will go up onto the state public auction site, and then any proceeds from the sale of that will go back into the general fund.”

The new vehicle will cost $47,105 for the initial purchase, as well as $18,206 for additional emergency fittings. The motion to approve the vehicle’s purchase was approved unanimously.