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Frederick Mayor W. Jeff Holtzinger (R) has challenged the Frederick Police Department to justify the purchase of a $20,000 vehicle used for recruiting, in the wake of the challenging economic conditions for the city.

Holtzinger told The Gazette last week that after he was challenged during a radio interview about the vehicle, he planned to look into its use to ensure that it is a good use of taxpayer money.

"You can't just do things like that in this day and age, when we're scrambling for money and can't afford trash trucks," Holtzinger said. "I just can't see that as being necessary.

"It concerns me, but the next administration is going to be having a big discussion with the county about tax equity, and I don't know if this will hurt our case," Holtzinger said, referring to the annual reimbursement from the county to the city for its police services.

The vehicle in question is a used 2007 Chevrolet HHR, purchased for $14,000 from Saturn of Frederick in October 2008. The vehicle was part of a fleet replacement the police department was allotted in 2008, and was a budgeted and approved line item in the fiscal 2009 budget, said Katie Barkdoll, the city's budget director.

The department paid $5,000 in November 2008 for custom features and extensive cosmetic body work by Sounds So Good Car Audio, a company based in Waynesboro, Pa. The money for the work came from the police budget's "General Supplies" category. The department said it received a discounted rate from the installation company for the features.

Holtzinger said he was aware of the fleet replacement, but did not know the extent to which the department had outfitted the vehicle, and doubts the custom work was necessary.

Frederick Police Chief Kim C. Dine said the vehicle was intended to serve as an administrative vehicle to be taken to trainings and events. The department decided it could also serve as a recruitment tool.

Capt. Kevin Grubb, deputy chief of police, said the vehicle is intended to serve as a "mobile billboard."

"Instead of paying for recruitment advertising periodically, we can use this vehicle all the time, and save money while we're doing it," Grubb said.

Most notably, Grubb said, it saves the department money in advertising it would usually use for recruiting. Grubb said in the past the department has paid $400 for three-day print advertisements and $1,500 per month for billboards.

Dine also noted that the department always meets its budget caps and restraints, and the vehicle was not purchased during the city's budget crisis. "Would we do it in a year when we didn't have the money to do it? Absolutely not," Dine said.

Some of the features of the police car include custom embroidered rear headrests with the Frederick Police Department logo; blue pearl painted doors; video screens in the two front seat headrests; a 12-inch, flip-down monitor; two rotating police lights in the rear hatch of the vehicle; and an upgraded sound system. The monitor offers a place to play a $10,000 recruiting video that wouldn't otherwise be played, Grubb said.

"If that's the kind of thing that would make someone want to join the department, then I would question that candidate," Holtzinger said of the features.

A recruitment vehicle is not uncommon in law enforcement or military recruitment, said Lt. Shawn Perry, of Frederick Police Department's Human Resource Division. Perry said he got the idea from a job fair in Howard County two years ago, where a recruitment vehicle drew lots of attention and interest in the Howard County Police Department.

Perry said the Frederick department has used the vehicle for about 10 events since it was purchased. It is also used for community events such as National Night Out.

"We are competing against other agencies that have other tools, and we have to be able to compete," Perry said. "It's just a good tool to bring people to you. They open up to you. Yeah, they want to see the car, but they ultimately want to know about your agency."

E-mail Erica L. Green at egreen@gazette.net.