At last night’s Kankakee City Council meeting, aldermen approved a plan to do away with the normal bidding process that takes place when the city needs to replace a police squad car or a fire department ambulance. Instead the council voted unanimously to allocate a set amount of funds to both the police and fire departments so that they have more flexibility in acting on a purchase. Mayor Chris Curtis explained that the move was prompted by a vehicle shortage created in part by the COVID-19 pandemic and a shortage of microchips used in manufacture.
The council allocated a total of a half million dollars to vehicle purchases split evenly between the police and fire departments. The police department will use the money to replace 4 squad cars. The fire department will use the money to acquire a new ambulance.
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