Purchasing a new truck for Precinct 4 was the only action item on the Shelby County Commissioners’ Court agenda Wednesday, Jan. 3.
Roscoe McSwain, Commissioner Pct. 1 presided over the meeting in the absence of County Judge Allison Harbison. Jimmy Lout, Commissioner, Pct. 2, was also not present for the meeting.
Commissioner Tom Bellmyer, Pct. 4 presented a request to purchase a new truck for to replace one that was not running. According to Bellmyer, the pickup broke a timing chain.
“It’s the highest mileage truck I’ve got,” said Bellnyer. “It’s got right at 300,000 miles on it. It’s not worth repairing or maintaining. So, we stripped the radio and fuel tanks and took all the stuff off.” Bellmyer stated plans for the old truck were to dispose of it as salvage.
“Just to reiterate what we’ve talked about over the years,” said Porterfield, “we have two options. If you deem an asset surplus, that means it’s still usable. If we were to dispose of it, we’d have to go out for bids or sell it at an auction. If we deem an asset as salvage, that means it’s not usable. We can sell it to a scrapyard, we can junk it, use it for parts. There’s no stipulations on how we get rid of it.”
“I appreciate that and that’s the way it should be,” McSwain concurred. “My yard has four or five units that need to be moved.”
Bellmyer added that when the cost is more than the worth, managing taxpayer dollars by getting rid of it is the best option unless another county department wants or needs it. “I’ll be glad to give it to them,” he said.
Addressing the new vehicle purchase, Bellmyer concluded that because he intended to pull equipment with it, he had specifications for the purchase. “So, we can go out (for bids) and whatever comes back, (purchase the truck through BuyBoard) with ARPA funds.”
The motion was unanimously approved.
In other matters, the court approved paying weekly expenses and payroll.