City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: FEBRUARY 24, 2026 FROM: GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: DONATION OF SURPLUS FORD RANGER PICKUP TRUCK TO ARLINGTON BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP ISSUE:
Donation of a surplus Ford Ranger pickup truck to Arlington Business Partnership (ABP).
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
Authorize the donation of a surplus Ford Ranger pickup truck to Arlington Business Partnership; and Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents required to complete this donation.
BACKGROUND:
In accordance with City policy, obsolete or surplus assets may be transferred between departments, disposed, or sold, or in some cases, may be donated. In the case of vehicles, City departments typically keep vehicles in service beyond their useful life, and they are ultimately sold at auction. To prepare for auction, General Services Department, Fleet Division staff assess the vehicle’s condition, remove all City of Riverside decals, logos, and equipment, and retrieve original title documents from the Finance Department. No repairs are made to these vehicles, and they are auctioned in “as is” condition.
Occasionally, as with a recent donation of Fire Department vehicles to Riverside’s Sister City Ensenada, Mexico, an outside entity may contact the City with an inquiry about vehicle donation opportunities. When a donation request is received, Fleet will assess the current pool of surplus vehicles and identify units that may have 1-2 more years of life in them if minimal repairs are made. These vehicles are uncommon as the surplus pool is typically comprised of high mileage vehicles are 15+ years old whose value may be less than the cost to repair the vehicle.
DISCUSSION:
Arlington Business Partnership (ABP), a Riverside non-profit organization established in 2002 with a mission to represent and promote Arlington businesses, stimulate the local economy, and initiate improvement projects to enhance Arlington businesses, reached out to the City in late 2025 to inquire about donation of a surplus vehicle to their organization. Similar to donations of vehicles to Riverside’s Sister City, the possibility of a truck donation to ABP promotes partnership with a local non-profit and could offer ABP a vehicle with a couple of years of serviceable life.
The General Services Department, Fleet Division (Fleet) assessed the surplus vehicle pool and identified two possible truck options that were in fair condition and required minimal repairs. Staff met with ABP leadership to inspect the two trucks and determined that a 2007 Ford Ranger (Asset ID C1050) was the favorable option. Truck C1050 was owned by Fleet as a motor pool truck, available for departments to rent as needed. For the last few years, the truck was a long-term rental used by Public Works Engineering. This nearly 19-year-old truck currently has over 75,000 miles and is well beyond the City’s target replacement threshold of 10-12 years. As is typical, in anticipation of donation Fleet performed a minimal amount of maintenance on the truck to make it operable for ABP’s future use.
Pursuant to Purchasing Resolution 24101, Article Twelve which outlines the requirement for the disposition of surplus goods, City Council approval is required to authorize the donation of equipment or vehicles of value.
Purchasing Resolution 24101, Section 1205, Contributions to Other Agencies, states “Nothing contained in this Resolution shall affect the power and authority of the City Council to make contributions of funds, Goods, Services or Construction to other agencies.” The Purchasing Manager concurs that the recommended actions are in accordance with Purchasing Resolution 24101.
The Fleet Manager concurs with this report.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The total fiscal impact of this donation is estimated to be approximately $1,200 based on valuations of similar trucks recently available on the govdeals.com website.
Approved by: Lee Withers, General Services Director
Certified as to
availability of funds: Julie Nemes, Interim Finance Director Approved by: Edward Enriquez Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer/ City Treasurer
Approved as to form: Rebecca McKee-Reimbold, Interim City Attorney Donation of Surplus Ford Ranger Pickup Truck ● Page 3