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LORAIN COUNTY, Ohio – Lorain County officials are pushing back hard against public claims that dozens of sheriff’s cruisers were on the verge of being repossessed, calling the alarm a “manufactured crisis” and insisting county residents were never in danger of losing critical patrol vehicles.
The Lorain County Board of Commissioners released a statement on February 5 titled “Response to Claims of Impending Repossession of Police Cruisers,” which has been circulated on county letterhead and posted on social media and the county website. The release appears in the county’s online Alert Center under the same headline.
At the heart of the dispute is who bore responsibility for a missed payment to Enterprise Fleet Management and whether that nonpayment ever realistically put 41 Lorain County Sheriff’s Office cruisers at risk of repossession.
Commissioners Call Repossession Talk “False Information”
In the written statement, the commissioners say they were alerted to what they describe as “false information being shared by the Sheriff’s Deputies Association.” The document matches a version of the statement that has also been posted by local media.
According to the release, the deputies’ group alleged that:
The commissioners had defaulted on the county’s vehicle fleet lease with Enterprise Fleet Management, and as a result, 41 police cruisers were set to be repossessed.
The commissioners flatly deny that scenario.
“This manufactured crisis stated that the Commissioners defaulted on the county’s vehicle fleet lease… and that 41 police cruisers were set to be repossessed,” the statement reads. “As soon as the Commissioners were made aware of this issue, our County Deputy Administrator, Karen Perkins, made a brief phone call to Enterprise Fleet Management to confirm the vehicles in question were not going to be repossessed, nor were they ever going to be.”
County Says Sheriff Missed $13,583.81 Payment
The board’s release shifts responsibility to the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office, emphasizing that the sheriff is an independently elected official who manages his own budget and vendor payments.
Key points from the commissioners’ statement include:
The Sheriff’s Office is responsible for its own invoices, including those to Enterprise Fleet Management. The Sheriff’s Office did not pay the full invoice of $13,583.81 by December 2025, according to the commissioners’ account. That nonpayment generated an automated notice of default to the Lorain County Sheriff’s Department—not to the commissioners.
The commissioners stress that their role is budgetary, not operational bill-paying. They note that they approved the sheriff’s 2026 annual budget on Dec. 19, 2025, implying that funds had been allocated and that it was up to the sheriff’s office to ensure bills were paid from that budget.
The statement also notes that the sheriff “currently has $346,000 in his equipment lease account,” a figure the commissioners appear to be using to argue that there was no genuine financial shortfall threatening the fleet, only a payment that had not yet been processed.
Deputies Association Previously Warned Public About Fleet
The commissioners’ response comes after a wave of attention triggered by statements from the Lorain County Deputies Association, which said publicly that 41 cruisers could be repossessed because lease payments were allegedly not being made.
According to local reports, the deputies association said the commissioners had defaulted with Enterprise Fleet Management and that their decisions “have put the Lorain County population at risk.” The association used social media and a press conference to call attention to the issue and accuse county leadership of jeopardizing public safety.
Local TV stations carried the story, in some cases broadcasting live from Elyria as officials and union representatives traded accusations. The commissioners’ Feb. 5 response appears to be an effort to reclaim the narrative and reassure residents that their deputies would not lose patrol vehicles.
He-Said, She-Said: Who Is To Blame?
At this point, the cruiser controversy has turned into a public political dispute. The deputies association frames it as a default by commissioners that put public safety at risk. The commissioners frame it as a “manufactured” crisis caused by the sheriff’s office failing to pay its own $13,583.81 invoice, which triggered only an automated notice, not immediate repossession.
The facts that appear undisputed so far are that there was a past-due amount on the Enterprise Fleet Management account tied to the sheriff’s vehicles, and that nonpayment resulted in an automated default notice. However, the vehicles were not actually repossessed, and Enterprise reportedly told the county they were not in danger of being repossessed at that time.
What’s still in dispute is whether the commissioners or the sheriff’s office bears more responsibility for the missed payment and whether the deputies association exaggerated the risk to make a political point.
Commissioners Emphasize Public Safety and Fiscal Stewardship
The commissioners close their written statement with a reassurance aimed at Lorain County residents:
“The Lorain County Board of Commissioners remains committed to ensuring residents can have confidence in the continuity of essential public safety services and in the responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”
They invite questions at a general county email address and list the commissioners’ office contact information at the Administration Building in Elyria. For now, patrol cars remain on the road. But the episode has exposed a rift between county leadership and rank-and-file deputies, raising questions about internal communication, budgeting practices, and how high-stakes disputes over public safety funding should be handled.