Head of the Harbor to upgrade police vehicle fleet using new federal funding

Head of the Harbor will upgrade the village police department’s aging vehicle fleet using nearly $124,000 in new federal funding.

Head of the Harbor Police Chief Charles Lohmann said the funding will help the village replace two police cars with state-of-the-art vehicles.

The new cars will feature mobile data terminals, license plate-reading cameras, emergency lighting and other features that will boost communication in the field, Lohmann said. The village has four vehicles in operation.

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) announced the federal funding award of $123,726 during a news conference last week, along with other officials. LaLota said the funding was secured through this year's federal appropriations process.

“If we can get two cars, that’s half our fleet," Lohmann said. "Getting them replaced is significant.”

Lohmann noted that damages from the August 2024 flood that devastated parts of Suffolk's North Shore had already hiked operational costs. It would have been a challenge to set aside funding for new vehicles, he said.

Upgrading the village fleet will be key in not only curbing village costs, but also in boosting public safety, said Mayor Michael Utevsky.

"We need the police cars, and as they age we need to replace them, so it’s a critical component of public safety,” Utevsky said.

Village trustee Jeffrey Fischer said it's expensive to repair cars when a warranty has expired. "That is a direct negative impact on our budget," Fischer said. "So to get them refreshed and replaced is a very welcome thing.”

Town of Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim said he spoke with LaLota about vehicle funding following the August 2024 storm. He said the village “has a limited bandwidth” to raise revenue given its largely residential tax base.

“For the village, anytime they have to make purchases like that ... that’s a lot of money to spread out in terms of taxes over 535 homes. It’s a lot, so this is most welcome,” Wehrheim said.