The question is, “Are members of
the Town Council making the best business decisions when spending our tax
dollars”. So let’s take a look at the purchase
of the 2012 Bandit 990 Chipper from Hammond Tractor Company for $31,999.00.
In order to know if this is a
good purchase or not; we need to review the history of the town’s usage of a
chipper. So I asked the town in a
Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) and the following is what I was provided.
Fiscal Year Money
Spent
2012-2013 Purchase Order 1634 -
$7,200.00
2013-2014 "There
were no Purchase Orders
indicating a chipper had been rented.
Before we started renting a chipper on a
regular basis the crew would cut the
brush, load it on a truck and bring it to
the Transfer Station and dump it on the
ground.
Then the Transfer Station staff
would load it into a big trailer and
haul it
off for disposal. This was a
tremendous
waste of resources.”
2014-2015 “There
were no Purchase Orders indicating a chipper had been rented. Before we started renting a chipper on a
regular basis the crew would cut the brush, load it on a truck and bring it to
the Transfer Station and dump it on the ground.
Then the Transfer Station staff would load it into a big trailer and
haul it off for disposal. This was a
tremendous waste of resources.”
2015-2016 Purchase
Order 12163 - $1,324.58
Purchase
Order 13630 - $191.25
Purchase
Order 13691 - $573.75
Purchase
Order 13796 – $212.50
TOTAL:
$2,302.08
Now that we have the history for the past 4 years, it
is time to
determine if this purchase was for convenience or a necessity. In
4 years, the cost totaled was$9,502.08. This is an average
of
$2,375.52 per year. Does
this justify purchasing a chipper for
$31,999.00? Remember for two year the town did not rent a
chipper.
This Town Council should be looking for ways to reduce the cost
of
operating this town instead of reckless spending. I personally
do not feel this was a justifiable purchase.
If you agree with me,
call
your Councilors and asked them to stop wasting our tax
dollars.
The Public Works Director is going out for bids on 5
more
purchases/projects. At the next council meeting, the Town
Council
will vote on these items. What are your feelings?
It appears to me that the Council does not understand they have
reduce spending and find ways to
increase revenue in order to
reduce taxes. Their primary mission should be to operate this
town safely
and to reduce our taxes. They do
not appear to be
trying to reduce our taxes.
Was
this a good business decision or fraud waste and abuse?
Larry
Fillmore
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