The Fredonia Police Department faces significant staffing challenges and likely needs a new car soon.

That was the upshot of Police Chief David Price’s report to the Board of Trustees at this week’s workshop. Price said a recent resignation leaves him short three officers. Adding in a maternity leave for another officer, he’s currently down four people in total.

There’s no recent civil service list of available officer candidates, either. Price said the most recent test was in September, and he is hoping for and expecting the new list any day now.

“We’ll have to come up with a plan,” the chief said. “I can’t even recommend what we’ll do at this time. But four people down in a department my size is significant. That’s why you see the increase in overtime.”

Trustees complained that recent state civil service reforms intended to increase candidate pools did not include police and fire. Trustee Nicole Siracuse commented on the downstate-centered view of most officials in Albany, noting that the Fire Department of New York and the New York Police Department are never short on job candidates.

“We need three people right now,” Price said. “I don’t want the community to think I’m asking for three additional people — that’s historical staffing in the time I’ve been here,” meaning three more are needed to reach that level.

“Every municipality, every police or sheriff’s department is waiting for that (civil service) list to come back now,” Price continued. “It’s very competitive right now. I wish there were more people interested in the job right now, but there’s a staffing shortage. That’s why we’re struggling where we’re at right now. We used to have 10 people waiting on a job that we posted. It’s the complete opposite now.”

Fredonia’s top cop then moved to another challenge: One of his patrol cars is near the end of its life.

“Our oldest car– we have four patrol cars — has over 125,000, 130,000 miles on it now,” he said. “I’m spending a lot of money to keep it running and I don’t know how much longer I can manage that. I don’t know if it’s gonna make it… another eight or nine months.”

Price said he has capital money left to cover roughly half the cost of a new car.

“I don’t know where it’s going to end up, but I’m just making the board aware of what may be coming. I’d love to say it’s going to last eight months, but knowing what I know about these cars, I don’t think it will.”