Proposal Requires All-EV or Hybrid City Fleet

Electric car charging station. (CC0 Public Domain)

The City of Milwaukee’s vehicle fleet, which includes police cars, garbage trucks, fire engines and several small vehicles used by a variety of departments, could soon become much more environmentally friendly.

A new ordinance, introduced by Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic, would require the city to always buy low or zero-emission vehicles with only a handful of exemptions. The end goal is a battery-electric vehicle (EV) fleet with zero tailpipe emissions, but the proposal also allows for a bridge measure of lower-emission hybrids, plug-in hybrids and compressed natural gas vehicles.

The proposal requires the most aggressive standards for the lighter vehicles in the city’s fleet, while allowing a slower transition for heavier vehicles like fire engines or garbage trucks.

For any purchase, a total lifecycle analysis would need to be performed. For a light-duty vehicle, such as a police car or pickup truck, the city would need to buy the environmentally-friendly option unless the traditional vehicle is 20% cheaper or the qualifying option isn’t available in the next 12 months. That threshold is lowered to 10% for vehicles weighing more than 8,500 pounds, making it more likely traditional vehicles are able to be purchased.

Dimitrijevic acknowledged that the proposal would likely have a cost, but having a strong plan would position the city to be able to secure federal aid from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and other programs. “If we have a plan that’s in writing and aggressive, we will be able to draw down tens of hundreds of millions of dollars to do this,” she told the Public Works Committee on March 8.

“We have been discussing this with fleet managers since October,” said Environmental Collaboration Office (ECO) environmental sustainability program manager Pamela Ritger de la Rosa. The office is also working on the associated infrastructure needs. “ECO is currently evaluating proposals from consultants to help the city develop the EV charging network, both for fleet and public use as well.”

The city will rely on the U.S. Department of Energy‘s Alternative Fuels Data Center Vehicle Cost Calculator initially.

“The way we wrote the ordinance is this can change as we find better tools,” said Ritger de la Rosa. She said the federal calculator is known to have some limitations for the Department of Public Works‘ specialized vehicles, and ECO is working to create its own tool. The calculator does use the average costs in each state for both fuel (gasoline or diesel) and electricity.

“What’s not in the calculator, of course, is the obvious thing… the reduction in the burning of fossil fuels,” said Dimitrijevic. “We have to be good citizens here and reduce our environmental footprint.”

She noted that the 2023 budget included $1 million for purchasing new vehicles for the Milwaukee Police Department, citing it as an example of how the city is always buying new vehicles. The proposal requires any exemption to be submitted in writing. “This is no longer just a polite request. This is an ordinance that says how we are going to move forward,” said the alderwoman.

Alderman Robert Bauman noted several potential pitfalls, including the fact that police cars are running across multiple shifts. Would MPD be granted funding to buy 50% more vehicles?

“I think that’s why we are moving a little bit more slowly with this ordinance,” said Ritger de la Rosa, noting it’s not only for EVs, but includes hybrids. She said the standard new police car is already a hybrid, and uses 48% less fuel and emits 32% less carbon dioxide.

Switching police cars to EVs could happen, but it would take a high-speed charging network. “Those cars are running all the time, which means you need to have a level three charger, which is expensive right now,” she said.

Other grants could help build a charging network. An existing federal grant network would help buy electric vehicles.

“There are a lot of incentives the city can get as well if the city is purchasing EVs and plug-in hybrids,” said Ritger de la Rosa. She said a federal credit for heavy-duty vehicles is currently $40,000.

But that EV credit might not be enough to offset expenses like those for a garbage truck. She said the cost difference currently can be upwards of $300,000. “The market needs to catch up.”

But compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles are a suitable replacement under the ordinance, she noted. According to DPW’s website, 60 of its garbage trucks already use the diesel-fuel alternative and rely on two special CNG fueling stations DPW owns. The department alone has 2,600 motorized vehicles.

“Fleets are a very logical place to start,” said Bauman in support of the resolution.

“We are trying to lead by example,” said Ritger de la Rosa.

The ordinance would replace a policy that required the city departments to buy ethanol vehicles. Ritger de la Rosa said that policy wasn’t actually enforced, nor was it relevant at this point. Dimitrijevic said it was important that the new ordinance requires a written exemption be submitted.

The policy isn’t limited just to EVs as a zero-emission option. It also includes a provision for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. “We are thinking about the future,” said Ritger de la Rosa.

Based on the committee’s action, Dimitrijevic and Ritger de la Rosa’s presentation went well. Bauman and fellow committee members JoCasta Zamarripa, Jonathan Brostoff, Khalif Rainey and Russell W. Stamper, II signed on as co-sponsors and began offering ideas on how to move to EVs faster and find extra revenue sources. The full council will consider the proposal on March 21.