November 19, 2013
11/20/13 The Marshall County Sheriff’s Department will be purchasing three new vehicles with funds in next year’s budget.
Monday morning Captain Dan Butt with the county police agency appeared before the county commissioners and presented a quote for three all-wheel drive Ford Utility Interceptors. Oliver Ford in Plymouth mirrored the state bid of $26,642 per unit in an attempt to keep the business local. The three units are valued at $79,926. The Sheriff’s Department will trade in three vehicles, a 2009 Ford Crown Victoria, a 2007 Ford Taurus and a 2007 Ford Fusion. The trade-ins were valued at $7,200 making the net cost to the county at $72,726.
Penny Lukenbill, the County Auditor acknowledged that the vehicles are in the 2014 CAGIT Certified Shares budget which has nearly $500,000 in it as of today. She noted that approximately $200,000 would be distributed into the fund in December but yearend expenses are typically heavy. The auditor anticipates beginning the year with $600,000 in the budget but with three pay periods in January she warned of a cash flow issue. Lukenbill recommended taking possession of the new vehicles in February.
Although the commissioners noted her concern the motion was made to approve the purchase with Commissioner Kevin Overmyer noting that they were not going micromanaging the sheriff’s budget. He said, “The Sheriff need to understand his own budget.”
Commissioner Deb Greiwank suggested having documentation from the local dealerships of their desire to not participate in the bid process. Officer Butt said he only found out on Friday that he would be presenting to the commissioners on Monday. He commented, “I will do my independent research next time.”