Pulaski County Fiscal Court on Tuesday authorized county staff to seek and—if available—purchase a used dump truck priced under $30,000 without a formal competitive bid, and separately approved advertising for bids if a replacement would exceed $30,000.

The court’s road superintendent told commissioners the existing truck that pulls the county’s total patcher is down and “may not be worth fixing” because it has more than 600,000 miles and repairs would be expensive. The presiding officer said the court would ask for two motions: permission to buy a vehicle under $30,000 without bidding and permission to advertise/bid for a vehicle costing more than $30,000. Both motions were moved and seconded and carried.

Commissioners and staff warned that road patching is constrained while the truck is out of service. One commissioner said the total patch truck has been down for weeks and that “not much patching’s getting done on our roads,” and staff estimated another couple of weeks of delay if a replacement is sought.

The court also discussed repair as a fallback option: staff said fixing the old truck could serve as a backup but that repair costs would likely exceed small-purchase thresholds and require approval. Court members discussed sourcing a replacement from state pricing schedules, which might avoid a local bid in some cases, and directed staff to pursue options.