Mar. 12--LEBANON -- Obsolescent computers in Lebanon's police cars will be replaced soon, with a local business benefiting.

"We're way past the life span of the computers we currently own," Police Chief Tom Garoffolo said at Monday's city council meeting.

The council approved Garoffolo's request for $55,470 to buy 30 Dell Latitude E6500 laptops from Net-Tec Computers, Lebanon. The money will come from food and beverage tax revenue.

Net-Tec owner Eddie West said he was "gratified" that the council chose to buy locally. The computers should arrive in a week to 10 days, he said Wednesday.

Included in the price is a four-year "complete care accidental damage protection" warranty, Garoffolo said.

Some of the Panasonic CF 48 Toughbooks now used can't be upgraded, Garoffolo said.

Many of the Toughbooks are beyond economical repair, LPD Lt. Brent Wheat said.

They are also slow. With only 512MB of RAM, the computers can't effectively run more than two programs, Wheat said.

In-car computers give officers more flexibility, increase safety and improve efficiency because they provide more information.

With wireless Internet access, for example, the computers allow officers to check vehicle and driver's licenses without tying up a dispatcher's time.

Even with a $300 discount per unit, Net-Tec's quote was $1,800 under a package deal direct from Dell. A Crawfordsville business bid $60,000, excluding freight.

Dell units were chosen in part because the Boone County Sheriff's Office is upgrading its in-car computers to Dells, Garoffolo said.

Garoffolo had included the computer request in his budget for this year, but it was withdrawn; the council recommended he ask for food and beverage tax funding.

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