Plymouth Police Department offering advertising on squad cars for local businesses

PLYMOUTH, Ind. -- The Police Department is now asking local businesses to buy ads and put their logos on the side of patrol vehicles.

The Department originally put the promotion on Facebook over the summer, until the city got involved.

Now, they have come together with a sponsorship agreement, that was approved this week to get the cars up and rolling.

For 1250 dollars a local business can stamp an 8-inch decal on the bumper, and a 4-inch decal on the fenders over the next 5 years.

That means thousands of dollars of extra revenue for their budget, that they would like to use to purchase E-bikes.

Chief John Weir, who came up with idea believes it will be a great way to raise money for the department, while supporting local businesses.

He understands concerns the sponsorships could cause conflicts of interest, which is why any business that finds itself in legal trouble will automatically have its decal removed.

Two longstanding business owners shared their thoughts.

Rocky Talcott, the owner of The Floor Store and More told ABC57, he needs more information before forming an opinion.

“Buses were buses pretty much and then they start putting advertisements, but never on an emergency vehicle and that's what is different and kind of threw me when I heard that so I don't know what to think about it right now,” said Talcott.

Sandy Saenz, the owner of Symplee Stated Gifts, told ABC57 it is something she would look into for her business.

"It's unique and we need to be unique in reaching out to people and finding ways to reach them so actually, I think it's a very intriguing idea something. I'm going to investigate a little bit further and learn a little bit more about. I've got a couple questions,” said Saenz.

6 cars will be wrapped by Magnum Wrapping in Plymouth this year, and 7 next.