York City's fleet of police vehicles will soon get a needed boost thanks to a $100,000 private donation.

Police Chief Wes Kahley said he plans to use the money to replace "vehicles that are basically falling apart."

Half of the department's fleet is in need of replacement, he said.

The donation, from WellSpan, should cover the cost of three vehicles fully outfitted with police equipment, Kahley said.

"That's three more vehicles that need to be replaced that we wouldn't be able to replace otherwise," he said.

Police work is hard on cars, especially in the city, where officers spend significant amounts of time in stop-and-go traffic, Kahley said. Many of the city's police vehicles have logged upward of 150,000 miles.

"It's the office for the officers. They're in them 24/7. The cars, they get used and abused," Kahley said.

The York City Council

is scheduled to accept the donation at the council's July 17 meeting.

It's been about a decade since the city last used public funds to purchase vehicles, Kahley said. Private donations have kept the fleet going, he said.

"It's the first thing that's cut out of our budget," he said.

The city's highway department does a good job of keeping old vehicles operating, but it's time to replace cars when they start spending more time in the shop than on the road, Kahley said.

"It's embarrassing to me that I have to do things in this way," he said. "We'd just as soon not have to rely on private donations to make this happen. But we have to do what we can to keep the fleet going."

-- Reach Erin James at 505-5439 or ejames@yorkdispatch.com or on Twitter @ydcity.