Council delays sunroof decision

Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2005 | 8:07 a.m.

Sunroofed cars for the top administrators in the Henderson Police Department will have to wait.

The Henderson City Council delayed a vote Tuesday on awarding a $2.3 million contract for the purchase of 93 police vehicles, including four Chevrolet Impalas with sunroofs, bucket seats and spoilers.

City officials said delaying the contract award until Jan. 3 had nothing to do with questions raised by some city officials and others over spending about an extra $3,600 per car to equip the vehicles of two deputy police chiefs and two captains with sunroofs and more powerful engines.

Police Chief Alan Kerstein, who received a similar sunroofed Impala last week, also had a Bose radio with an eight-speaker sound system installed in the vehicle at a $400 additional cost to the city.

The council did not vote on the purchase of Kerstein's car because its $19,200 cost fell below the $25,000 threshold requiring council approval, city officials said.

Having sunroofs on the police administrators' cars has been questioned by Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers, who called it an unneeded luxury that "sets a bad precedent to the public."

When told Tuesday that Kerstein has a Bose sound system in his car, Cyphers requested more information from city staff and said she will reserve comment until she receives it.

Kevin Hill, Henderson's fleet manager, said he does not know why Kerstein requested a Bose radio. The sunroofs were added to boost the resale value of the Impalas, he said.

Ziggy Terelak, the fleet manager of Champion Chevrolet, which sold the cars to Henderson, said the Bose radio also will boost the resale price.

Kerstein was in Mesquite on Tuesday and unavailable for comment.

Hill said the item was withdrawn from Tuesday's agenda because the 57 Chevrolet Tahoes that the city planned to buy for use as patrol vehicles were not available. General Motors is retooling the Tahoe body, and new models will not be on the market for 18 months, Terelak said.

Henderson's other options include purchasing Ford Crown Victorias, Chevrolet Impalas or Dodge Chargers, Hill said. The police department prefers SUVs because they hold more officers' equipment, he said.

The debate over the sunroofed cars is the second vehicle controversy involving Kerstein in the last month.

In November he apologized after it was revealed that he had an on-duty patrol officer pick him up in a squad car at McCarran International Airport when he flew back from vacation.

"He apologized, and said he shouldn't have done it," police spokesman Keith Paul said. "He said he won't do it again."

City policy does not expressly forbid such actions, Paul said. While city vehicles are to be used only for official business, the police chief technically is always on duty -- making it possible, under the broadest definition of official duty, to justify being picked up at the airport.

Brian Wargo can be reached at 259-4011 or at wargo@lasvegassun.com.