Some $467,000 — courtesy of Californians that consume legal cannabis purchased at permitted storefronts — will help fund new vehicles for the Manteca Police Department traffic enforcement unit.

The Manteca City Council when they meet Wednesday at 4 p.m. are expected to accept the grant from the California Highway Patrol and authorize Police Chief Stephen Schluer’s expenditure plan.

The plan includes purchasing:

*two marked SUV units for the traffic enforcement unit.

*an emergency outfitted traffic enforcement pickup truck.

*two equipped police motorcycles for traffic enforcement.

*fund eight saturation patrol efforts at various times throughout the year to snare motorists driving under the influence.

It will also allow five officers to attend the California Narcotics Officers Association Annual Symposium and Conference.

The pickup unit — although the department has issues with the slightly wider turning radius on the F-150 patrol units they have in service — will allow the traffic unit to transport cones and such needed for various enforcement efforts.

The 80-officer department has four officers and one sergeant dedicated to traffic enforcement. It is the same staffing as in 2009 before budget cuts reduced the unit’s size to three officers for more than a decade.

The patrol units and motorcycles being purchased with the state cannabis tax grant is in addition to 20 new police vehicles ordered using first-year Measure Q sales tax receipts.

There will be 15 new patrol vehicles. Ten will be Dodge Durango SUVs and five will be Chevy Tahoe SUVs.

The remaining five will be unmarked vehicles.

The City Council, in keeping with promises made during the campaign that led to passage of the temporary 20-year Measure Q three-quarter cent sales tax, included $1.6 million in the current fiscal year budget for police vehicles.

That is in addition to $510,000 earmarked in January to order five of the 10 Durango SUVs Manteca Police will receive.

The $510,000, along with $1.1 million for a replacement fire engine, was earmarked in January on the fact voters had passed the tax. The money was taken from reserves and will be backfilled with Measure Q receipts.

The $1.6 million was considered one-time Measure Q funding.

The fully equipped Durango police units cost $110,00 each while the Chevy Tahoes are $120,000.

The city a year ago, purchased two patrol units and two police motorcycles using $351,319 from the state’s share of cannabis taxes via the law enforcement grant program administered by the CHP.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com