AUBURN — A divided Androscoggin County Commission reversed itself last week and agreed to purchase five vehicles for the Sheriff’s Department.

In a 4-3 vote, commissioners accepted the low bid from Quirk Auto Group in Bangor for $240,912. The county will buy four Chevrolet Tahoe PPV at $53,826 apiece and one Chevrolet Trailblazer for $25,608.

Androscoggin County Sheriff Eric Samson estimated that the new cruisers would be delivered between 90 days and nine months.

‘”We don’t know exactly when they will be here,” Samson said.

Last month, even though the cruisers were included in the budget, the commissioners had rejected the request due to a potential financial crisis facing the county jail, which is facing a deficit of more than $200,000 without more state funding. State statute prevents the county from spending money in its own fund balance to cover the jail.

“This is not the year to do this,” Commissioner Garrett Mason said at the previous meeting. “I’m concerned about our fund balance, and we’re going to need every dollar we can get.”

Samson pleaded with the commissioners to release the budgeted funds to purchase the vehicles, which he said were sorely needed.

“We have one vehicle with a damaged front end that has over 100,000 miles on it,” Samson said. “One vehicle has a blown transmission. A K-9 vehicle that needs to be replaced due to age and miles.

One employee, Samson said, recently told him, “not having safe vehicles is not really putting us in a position to succeed.”

The four Democrats on the commission — Roland Poirier and Shukri Abdiraham of Lewiston, Jane Pentheny of Poland and chairman Andrew Lewis of Auburn — supported the purchase. The original request to purchase the cruisers failed last month by a 3-3 vote because Abdiraham was absent.

Concerns of the looming price increase due to tariffs also was brought up.

“I just want to point out with the uncertainty with tariffs, that it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect these to be $10,000 more per vehicle next year,” Pentheny said. “I think we’re better off buying them this year.”

The final vote was 4-3 in favor, with Republicans Mason, Brian Ames of Lewiston and Sally Christner of Turner voting against the proposal.