Last week Marshall County Surveyor Craig Cultice and Commissioner Mike Delp asked the County Council for an additional appropriation in the amount of $4,140 to outfit the two new vehicles he has on the way.
Cultice told the council if he moves money from several different line items and fund he could cover the expense of transferring the safety lights off the old trucks and onto the new ones. He said he could cover the cost of putting toppers on the new trucks to secure his equipment when he’s on site. GB Customs gave him a cost estimate of $4,140 for the project.
The question the council had was why the commissioners wouldn’t fund outfitting the trucks since in essence they are county vehicles.
Councilman Jon VanVactor said the surveyor’s budget doesn’t have any extra money so paying for this equipment would let him keep the funds he has until the end of the year.
Councilwoman Penny Lukenbill suggested the commissioners outfit the new trucks using their vehicle repair line item in this year’s budget. Both Council President Judy Stone and VanVactor supported her suggestion.
Jack Roose, one of the newest council members said the equipment is placed on a truck which provides service to the county so therefore it should be the county’s responsibility.
County Commissioner Kevin Overmyer told council members when Weights and Measures and the EMA Director received new leased trucks in 2016 they paid for the toppers on their trucks out of their county budgets.
Lukenbill told Commissioner Delp that a policy should be created concerning outfitting leased vehicle spelling out who would be responsible for covering the cost of equipment.
Commissioner Mike Delp told the council he would talk with the other commissioners on the recommendation.
