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Bexar County commissioners are in the midst of tense budget talks as they work to close a projected $145 million budget gap by 2028.
So, bringing up a high-end brand such as BMW during a purchase request may not be the best timing.
For the second time in a month, commissioners this week rejected a request from Precinct 3 Constable Mark Vojvodich to spend $103,000 on two BMW police motorcycles.
Vojvodich told commissioners the motorcycles are more nimble than the county’s fleet of Chevrolet Tahoes, allowing deputies to catch more traffic violators at intersections and in the 116 school zones in his Northwest Bexar County precinct.
He also argued that the motorcycles would cost less to operate than the Tahoes.
"With motorcycles, we actually have increased productivity over those in Tahoes," he said. "We do it with less intrusion into the school zone. It's less of a hazard for the students, the parents, my officers, and anybody else who comes into contact with us."
The majority of commissioners were not persuaded by Vojvodich’s arguments and questioned the funding mechanisms outlined in his request.
County staff told commissioners there are no salary savings in his budget available to purchase the motorcycles. They also said existing county fleet funds have expired and that using projected traffic fine revenue to pay for the bikes would violate the Texas Transportation Code.
Precinct 3 County Commissioner Grant Moody backed his constable during the debate, questioned staff funding analysis, and offered up capital funding from his precinct budget to go towards the bikes. Those funds, however, were not mentioned as part of the agenda item on the bikes.
"The funding is not an issue here, it's more of a question of are we going to support a constable when they have a request related to law enforcement," Moody said.
County Judge Peter Sakai reminded Moody of his own memo to him that asked for an up-or-down vote on the purchase of the bikes this second time around. Sakai ended the debate by ruling Moody out of order.
Commissioners then voted down the bike purchases 3-2, with Sakai being the decisive vote.
Commissioners this week were presented with a $2.6 billion dollar budget for the next fiscal year, which begins on Oct. 1, The budget plan also calls for no increase in property taxes, pay freezes for most county employees and retirees, no new capital projects, and no new spending on streets and flood control.
It also proposes the transfer of $20 million in flood maintenance and operation property tax revenue into the general fund to help close the spending gap.
More debate is to come before a Sept. 15 tax rate and budget adoption vote.
