Biloxi City Council approves new luxury SUV for the mayor. It’ll cost taxpayers $71,000.
Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich got the green light Tuesday for the purchase of a new SUV that’s going to cost taxpayers $71,000.
The council voted 5-1 in favor of the purchase of the 2021 Ford Expedition from Astro Ford in D’Iberville despite the concern over the steep costs from one of the council members.
“I’m just looking at a new vehicle for $71 grand,” Ward 5 Councilman Paul Tisdale told the mayor before casting the lone vote against the measure. “I’m sorry, I can’t support it. That’s just too much to pay for a vehicle. I mean, I love ya, but I just, I just can’t vote for it.”
Prior to the vote, Ward 1 councilman George Lawrence asked Gilich if the Chevrolet Tahoe he’s currently driving could be traded in, but the mayor said the city wasn’t doing that.
“I think the PD (the Police Department) has some use for it,” Gilich said. “The dial (the mileage) has 120,000 miles on it. I think there is a lot of updating (needed) for some radio equipment and that sort of thing. “
In addition, Gilich said, he had previously “talked to some folks about what could be done with the wheel bearings, and transmission and engine,” on the Chevy Tahoe he has been driving.
“The body is in good shape,” he said. “There is just a lot of miles on it.”
After that, Tisdale voiced his objections and Lawrence and council members Dixie Newman, Robert Deming III, Nathan Barrett and Felix Gines approved the measure without offering comment about their votes. Councilman Kenny Glavan wasn’t present in the meeting room at the time.
Gilich has been driving a Chevrolet Tahoe since he took over as mayor in 2015. That Tahoe had been bought for former Mayor A. J. Holloway after the 2010 BP oil spill, and Gilich continued to drive it after his election.
After the meeting, council members Lawrence and Gines defended the purchase, noting it was first time the city had bought a vehicle for Gilich since he took office in 2015.
Last-minute agenda item
The resolution for the council to approve the vehicle purchase was a last-minute agenda item, along with another proposed resolution to transfer $36,000 from a city “salaries” account to a “transportation equipment” account to help cover the costs of the mayor’s new vehicle.
City leaders got an email from the city clerk about the new agenda items at 3:39 p.m. Tuesday. The City Council meeting was at 6 p.m.
Tisdale took issue with adding the pricey purchase so late, saying residents didn’t get a chance to find out about the vehicle early enough to address the council before the vote.
Though it’s not unusual to have last-minute agenda items, Tisdale said he saw no need to rush a vote in this case.
“You know, it doesn’t cost us anything to be more transparent,” he said.
In the legal ad for the 2021 Ford Expedition Max, the city asked for various options. Those include that the SUV is black metallic with ebony interior leather-trim seats, black headlamp accents, powered running step boards, lined floor liners and mats, a rear seat entertainment center, and more.
The city received one bid for the vehicle, and it came from Astro Ford in Gulfport.
Newer model Ford Expeditions typically cost just under $70,000 or more.
Why rush the vote?
Tisdale said the vote on the Expedition should have been delayed.
“We are buying a car,” he said. “People buy cars all the time. It’s not like some of these (city) vehicles are not running. They are running. It could have waited.”
But Gines said the new SUV was “much needed.”
“It’s overdue,” Gines said. “I rode in it. There’s a lot of wear on that.”
Gines said the mayor also makes trips to places like Jackson to try to secure money for the city. He said he’d hate to see Gilich break down.
“He’s the mayor of the city and has to have a nice car,” Lawrence said. “He’s on call 24 hours a day. It’s an emergency vehicle. It’s outfitted like a police car.”
A question of costs
The Sun Herald reached out to other Mississippi Coast cities to find out what they are paying for vehicles for their mayors or other top officials.
The city of Gulfport paid $27,717 for a 2019 Dodge Durango that Mayor Billy Hewes drives.
Neighboring D’Iberville operates under a city manager form of government. The mayor drives his own car, and the city paid $49,012 for the 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe that City Manager Clay Jones drives, city clerk Jodi Weise said.
“I just can’t get over the fact that we are paying $71,000,” Tisdale said. “I had a tough time just associating that with a government official and that’s my values. I am incredulous about it.”
This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 8:00 AM.
