Wichita police will get four custom-built vehicles after the City Council voted 7-0 on Tuesday, Sept. 15, to approve nearly $2.4 million in contracts.

The purchase came in $250,000 under the $2.65 million the city had budgeted, KSN-TV reported.

The four vehicles include a command vehicle, a replacement bomb squad truck and two smaller mobile community outreach vans. All four will be built by Wisconsin-based LDV Custom Specialty Vehicles, which was selected after the city reviewed multiple proposals, according to the Wichita Eagle.

Capt. Jason Cooley of the Wichita Police Department presented the request to the council.

The command vehicle carries the highest estimated price tag at $879,630. During complex incidents, police supervisors and partner agencies need a nearby location to coordinate personnel, monitor developments and manage decisions across agencies, the city's agenda report said. The vehicle would be deployed during active threats, major criminal investigations, severe weather, search-and-rescue operations and large public events.

The bomb squad truck, estimated at $661,867, replaces a unit the department has used for 21 years. The city's agenda report said the current truck has outlived its useful service life and no longer meets the unit's long-term needs. The old truck will be sold once the replacement is operational.

The new bomb squad vehicle will transport and store specialized equipment for responding to explosive devices and other hazards. It will also support regional mutual-aid requests, according to the agenda report.

Each of the two community outreach vans is estimated at $427,845. Cooley told the council the smaller vehicles give officers a private space to meet with residents without removing them from their neighborhoods.

"These smaller ones provide a small conference table in the back where you can interview two or three people, comfortably, give a child a teddy bear or a car to play with on that conference table, and then you don't have to remove them from their residence," Cooley said.

The vans can also be used for neighborhood meetings, public safety education, recruiting and report-taking. The city's agenda report said the vehicles are meant to make police services more accessible in locations where officers already interact with residents.

All four price figures are estimates and could change as the vehicles are built. The city has not announced a delivery timeline.