WINNSBORO (Dec. 8, 2016) – County Council’s Administration and Finance Committee gave their approval Nov. 28 to several new vehicles and equipment for County departments, while a manpower study is being sent back out for qualifications.
The Committee agreed unanimously to forward to the full Council a 30,000-pound vehicle lift for the Vehicle Maintenance Department for $32,948. The lift came in just under the $35,000 Council had budgeted for the item.
A new Ford Police Interceptor SUV for the Sheriff’s Office also came in under budget at $48,937. Council had originally earmarked $63,391 for a K-9 vehicle for the Sheriff’s Office; however, Sheriff Will Montgomery told the Committee his office was instead converting a 2015 Tahoe from the Warrant Division into a K-9 unit. The Interceptor will replace the Tahoe.
A 2016 Ford F-150 for the Sheriff’s Office, meanwhile, came in slightly over budget at $72,309. Council had budgeted $66,093 for the truck. The $6,260 difference, County Administrator Jason Taylor said, was more than made up for by the $14,454 saved on the SUV.
The County also saved a few bucks on a new ambulance for the EMS Department, with the Committee approving $186,719 for a new Dodge. Council had budgeted $220,000 for the vehicle.
The Committee OK’d a pair of Sunset conversion vans for the Transportation Department for $105,614, which was $672 over budget.
The Committee also approved $25,370 for engineering and design services for the County’s fire alarm system. Council has budgeted $100,000 for a total upgrade of the system, Taylor said. After the engineering and design, Taylor said, the complete construction of the system will be put out for bid.
The single bid for the County’s manpower efficiency study came in at nearly double its budget, prompting Taylor to withhold a recommendation. Council had budgeted $36,000 for the study, but Taylor said the only bid on the project came in at $60,000.
“We are recommending this not move forward to Council,” Taylor told the Committee. “It bothers me that we only got one bid and it’s much higher than we had budgeted. And in looking at the qualifications, they’ve only done two other studies. We would probably like to put this out for qualifications yet again.”
The other recommendations will be passed along to Council at their Dec. 12 meeting.
