Whatcom County Council Public Works and Health Committee

The committee meeting served primarily as an informational briefing with no formal action taken. Key areas of interest from council members included the surplus process that leaves vehicles sitting for a year or more (sometimes developing pest infestations), the potential implementation of a motor pool to reduce the total number of vehicles needed across departments, and questions about whether the county could streamline its vehicle disposal process. The new AssetWorks fleet management system, implemented in 2025, now provides capabilities for better tracking and potentially establishing the motor pool that wasn't possible with previous systems. This presentation comes as the county prepares for the 2027-2028 budget cycle, with Peoples actively working on rate evaluations that will impact department budgets. The ER&R system operates as a mandated function under state law for all road fund equipment, though it also serves other county divisions on a voluntary basis. The economic lifecycle analysis model presented aims to replace vehicles at the optimal point before repair costs escalate, typically 8 years for passenger vehicles and trucks, 10 years for dump trucks, and 15 years for large equipment. #

No formal votes were taken during this presentation-only meeting. The agenda contained a single item: - AB 2026-234: Presentation from Public Works on Equipment Rental and Revolving Fund - PRESENTED (information only) #

"I can't tell you what it was, you know, obviously six decades ago when they put it in, if that was the intent, I, I can tell you for a fact right now we're not recovering that amount." **Brett Peoples, on the surplus process inefficiency:** "There's a cost to keeping vehicles. I should have to come back and ask if we can keep the one that we've replaced. That I think is a little more logical." **Brett Peoples, on ER&R's role:** "We're not a bank. I don't have a giant pile of money sitting around waiting to be spent. I don't get to choose how we spend it." **Kaylee Galloway, on the ferry funding issue:** "Yeah, it's been nowhere near, plus there's also been a surcharge as well. It hasn't come close to the actual replacement cost." **Brett Peoples, on damage costs:** "That's a good chunk of money. That's, you know, two F-150s right there that we could have bought straight out." **Garrett Randall, on surplus sales restrictions:** "We don't have the option to say, we're going to select this group of people and you can come here and just buy it at a negotiated price. We have to make that available to a broader group." #

## MODULE S1: STUDY GUIDE **Meeting ID:** WHA-CON-PWH-2026-03-24 ### Meeting Overview The Whatcom County Council Public Works & Health Committee met on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, to receive a special presentation from Public Works staff about the Equipment Rental and Revolving Fund (ER&R), which manages the county's fleet of vehicles and equipment. Brett Peeple, Assistant Superintendent for Equipment Services, provided a comprehensive overview of how the county purchases, maintains, and replaces its fleet through this specialized fund. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Equipment Rental and Revolving Fund (ER&R):** A specialized fund mandated by state law that manages all county road fund equipment, vehicles, and supplies. Departments pay monthly rates to use vehicles and equipment, with those rates covering maintenance, repairs, and eventual replacement. **Original Equipment Cost (OEC):** The total cost to purchase a vehicle or piece of equipment and get it ready for service, including radios, lights, decals, and other modifications needed for county use. **Make Ready/Upfitting:** The process of modifying new vehicles after purchase to meet county operational needs, including installing radios, emergency lights, decals, and specialized equipment. **CRAB:** County Road Administration Board, the state agency that governs how counties must operate their equipment rental and revolving funds through RCW 36.33A and WAC Chapter 136-600. **Economic Lifecycle Analysis:** A replacement strategy that determines the optimal time to replace equipment based on operating costs, maintenance expenses, and return on investment, rather than waiting until equipment fails completely. **Equity:** The money accumulated in the ER&R fund for each piece of equipment after collecting monthly rates and paying for maintenance, which should be sufficient to purchase a replacement when the equipment reaches the end of its useful life. **Unit:** Fleet manager terminology for any vehicle, trailer, or piece of equipment managed by ER&R, used to avoid constantly saying "vehicles and equipment." **Damage Chargebacks:** Repair costs for damage that isn't considered normal wear and tear, such as hitting light poles or jumping curbs, which departments must pay for separately from their regular ER&R rates. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Elizabeth Boyle | Committee Chair | | Barry Buchanan | Council Member | | Ben Elenbaas | Council Member | | Kaylee Galloway | Council Member | | Jessica Rienstra | Council Member | | Jon Scanlon | Council Member | | Mark Stremler | Council Member | | Brett Peeple | Assistant Superintendent for Equipment Services/Fleet Manager | | Garrett Randall | Superintendent M&O (Maintenance & Operations) | ### Background Context The Equipment Rental and Revolving Fund represents a state-mandated approach to fleet management that treats county equipment like an internal rental business. Rather than departments owning vehicles outright, they pay monthly rates to ER&R, which handles all purchasing, maintenance, repairs, and eventual replacement. This system is designed to ensure predictable costs and proper funding for vehicle replacement, avoiding the feast-or-famine cycle that can occur when departments try to manage their own fleets. The presentation comes at a time when the county is implementing significant improvements to its fleet management capabilities. The county recently invested in a new asset management system called AssetWorks, which is already showing improved efficiency and cost tracking. The county also faces upcoming challenges including fleet electrification requirements and the need to replace aging infrastructure like underground fuel tanks at the central shop. The ER&R fund operates on the principle that each piece of equipment should generate enough revenue through monthly rates to pay for its own maintenance and replacement over its lifetime. This prevents future budget crises where expensive equipment needs replacement but no funds are available. However, the system requires careful rate-setting and ongoing monitoring to ensure the fund remains balanced and departments aren't over or under-paying for their equipment. ### What Happened — The Short Version Brett Peeple walked the committee through how the county's fleet management system works behind the scenes. The county operates what's essentially an internal car rental business — departments pay monthly rates to use vehicles and equipment, and those payments cover everything from oil changes to buying new trucks when old ones wear out. The presentation covered how they calculate those monthly rates (using factors like expected maintenance costs and inflation), when they decide to replace equipment (typically 8 years for trucks, 10 for dump trucks, 15 for large equipment), and how they ensure each department has enough money saved up to buy new equipment when needed. Peeple highlighted several recent improvements, including a new computerized system that tracks maintenance in much more detail and has already increased productivity. He also discussed challenges like vehicles sitting too long waiting to be sold at auction (where they get damaged by weather and pests) and unexpected repair costs from accidents that departments have to pay separately. Council members asked questions about why the county is just now looking at motor pool options (answer: the new computer system finally makes it manageable) and whether all equipment has replacement costs built into rental rates (answer: yes for road equipment, still working on others). There was particular interest in streamlining the surplus process to get better returns on old equipment. ### What to Watch Next • Implementation of the new motor pool system, which could reduce the total number of vehicles the county needs to own • Potential changes to the surplus process to reduce the time vehicles sit unused before being sold • Development of a "crash fund" to help departments handle unexpected accident repair costs • Ongoing fleet electrification planning as state mandates approach ---

## MODULE S2: FLASH CARDS **Meeting ID:** WHA-CON-PWH-2026-03-24 **Q:** What does ER&R stand for? **A:** Equipment Rental and Revolving Fund - the county's system for managing vehicles and equipment. **Q:** Who is Brett Peeple? **A:** Assistant Superintendent for Equipment Services and Fleet Manager who oversees the county's ER&R operations. **Q:** What state agency governs how ER&R operates? **A:** CRAB - County Road Administration Board, which enforces RCW 36.33A and WAC Chapter 136-600. **Q:** What is OEC in fleet management? **A:** Original Equipment Cost - the total cost to buy a vehicle and get it ready for service, including radios, lights, and other modifications. **Q:** How often does ER&R evaluate its rates? **A:** Every two years during the biennial budget process. **Q:** What is the replacement criteria for passenger vehicles and trucks? **A:** 8 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. **Q:** What is the replacement criteria for dump trucks? **A:** 10 years or 250,000 miles, whichever comes first. **Q:** How much did the county spend on damage chargebacks in 2025? **A:** Around $140,000 - costs for repairs from accidents and non-normal wear and tear. **Q:** What new asset management system did the county implement? **A:** AssetWorks - a system that tracks maintenance time minute-by-minute and provides better forecasting and reporting. **Q:** What is a motor pool? **A:** A system where vehicles are rented short-term (daily or weekly) from a central location, like Enterprise, rather than being assigned permanently to departments. **Q:** Can ER&R funds be transferred between departments? **A:** No - state law prohibits any participant in the fund from benefiting from another department's payments. **Q:** What are the two main fleet replacement models discussed? **A:** "Use until failure" (wait until equipment breaks) and "economic lifecycle analysis" (replace at optimal cost point). **Q:** What percentage is typically set as salvage value for surplus equipment? **A:** 5% residual value is kept when equipment is put into service. **Q:** How long can the county's current surplus process take? **A:** Units can sit for a year or more before being sold, losing value due to depreciation and weather damage. **Q:** What three things are ER&R explicitly NOT? **A:** Not a bank, not a for-profit entity, and not an insurance company. **Q:** What happens during the "make ready" process? **A:** New vehicles are outfitted with radios, lights, decals, and other equipment needed for county operations. **Q:** How much did an example F-150 cost with make ready? **A:** About $62,000 with an expected monthly rate of $1,050. **Q:** What is equity in the ER&R context? **A:** Money left over after expenses that accumulates to fund replacement vehicles when equipment reaches end of life. **Q:** What improvement did AssetWorks make to month-end billing? **A:** Reduced the process from 2-4 hours with system shutdown to just minutes running in the background. **Q:** What special projects were completed in 2025? **A:** Fleet electrification study, phase one of central shop stormwater improvements, and AssetWorks implementation. ---