LANSING | What was once considered a capital improvement is now simply an annual expense, Lansing Village President Dan Podgorski said.

With that in mind, the Lansing Village Board is expected Tuesday to approve the purchase of nine new police vehicles for $185,636.

Using funds from the anticipated sale of 11 retired vehicles for $36,000, the new vehicles are expected to cost Lansing a net of $149,636.

"It's a yearly amount that gets budgeted," Podgorski said. "We include it in the operational budget. Cops have to have cars to operate. We stopped calling the acquisition of vehicles capital improvements years ago, because it really is an operational item."

Because they accumulate so much mileage and rarely get a rest, police vehicles typically last about three to five years, Podgorski said.

Lansing aims to keep its police vehicles in "tip-top shape," so they are reliable for police, he said.

"Squad cars run pretty much around the clock," Podgorski said. "One officer runs it for shift and basically keeps the car running, especially in bad weather, going from shift to shift. After a few years, they're not as efficient for use as police vehicles."

The nine vehicles proposed for purchase this year are seven 2007 Ford Crown Victoria marked cars, one 2007 Ford Crown Victoria unmarked car for detectives, and one Dodge Ram 1500 Quad truck.

The Crown Victorias cost $164,636 and will be paid for from the general fund, while Lansing will use money from the forfeiture of property seized in drug arrests to buy the truck for $21,000, Podgorski said.

Among the 11 retired vehicles Lansing plans to sell are four 2005 Crown Victorias and four 2003 Crown Victorias, he said.