Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Lengthy Discussion Had Over Declaring Patrol Cars Surplus Property
A recommendation to declare patrol cars as surplus property sparked a lengthy discussion during a meeting of Lawrence County Commissioners Tuesday.
Members of the commission’s Budget Committee had declared five aged patrol cars as surplus and recommended that the commission do so, as well. One 1999, two 2005 and two 2006 model Ford Crown Victoria patrol cars were the subject of the discussion.
A resolution had been brought before the board that would declare the cars to be surplus and authorize their donation to “various government entities, volunteer fire departments, or other qualified non-profit organization.”
Several commissioners questioned whether the cars might be used for transportation for additional School Resource Officers soon to be assigned to local schools.
Director of Accounts and Budgets Teresa Purcell explained that the cars listed were no longer in service and could be quite expensive to repair. “Some of these cars may not even have motors in them,” she said. “You’re going to have to spend money to get those cars on the road. A lot of times when we donate them, those organizations are willing to spend whatever they have to in order to get them restored.”
Purcell said that Chief Deputy Tony Crouch had been in attendance during the Budget Committee’s meeting and had reported on the condition of each vehicle. “They were deemed as surplus at that point and time and that they were actually not safe to be driven every day.”
Many of the commissioners asked questions and voiced opinions about the issue with several expressing their desire to learn more before taking any action. The board ultimately voted 16 to 1 to postpone action on the resolution until the commission’s next business meeting in May.
