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Audit shows Orange County vehicles not getting proper maintenance

County hopes new system will help improve fleet maintenance

ORLANDO, Fla. – A new Orange County government audit says county vehicles did not receive proper and scheduled maintenance over the span of two years.

County Comptroller Phil Diamond released the 25-page report on Thursday, highlighting fleet management’s performance on the county’s vehicles from 2017 to 2019.

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The audit says standard oil and fluid changes were either skipped or performed late on 84% (299 out of 358) of the county’s vehicles and trucks.

For things like tire rotations and transmission fluid changes, 73% of those services were either done late or skipped.

“They just don’t have a good system. They are getting a good system that I think is going to help with a lot of these issues. They are on schedule to get that installed sometime in the summer. I hope that resolves these issues,” Diamond said.

The audit also showed preventative maintenance was not performed timely for fire rescue ambulances.

The county has over 4,000 vehicles including 65 ambulances.

“Something we started researching in 2020 in the depths of the pandemic, we researched a more modern software system to help. We have 50 mechanics but like I said almost 4,000 assets we have to maintain, parts we have to maintain, work orders we have to maintain much like a huge dealership,” said Bryan Lucas, Orange County Fleet Management Division Manager.

The audit included eight pages of recommendations for improvement, adding that every vehicle should be serviced within 365 days if it has not reached the mileage threshold during that period.

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About the Author

Ezzy Castro is a multimedia journalist on News 6's morning team who has a passion for telling the stories of the people in the Central Florida community. Ezzy worked at WFOR CBS4 in South Florida and KBMT in Beaumont, Texas, where she covered Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Being from Miami, Ezzy loves Cuban coffee and croquetas!

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