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Commissioners approve conflict-of-interest disclosure for Ryan West, authorize auction disposal plan for surplus vehicles
Summary
Ryan West’s conflict-of-interest application was accepted and the board authorized a trial disposal of county vehicles via a third‑party broker, Tip of the Spear LLC, including two ambulances to be offered at an Indianapolis online auction.
The Clinton County Board of Commissioners accepted an application disclosing a potential conflict of interest for Ryan West, who works for the sheriff’s office and is connected to Tip of the Spear LLC. Commissioners voted to accept the disclosure 3–0.
Separately, commissioners authorized staff to proceed with a proposed auction-based disposal process for surplus county vehicles, presented by West and associated with Tip of the Spear LLC. West said the company can prepare and consign functioning ambulances, police vehicles and other equipment to a municipalities-only online auction in Indianapolis and handle cleaning, decal removal and transportation.
West described a proposed $500 handling charge per vehicle to cover cleanup and transport plus a seller fee charged by the auction platform; he said seller fees vary by sale price (examples discussed in the meeting: approximately $30 if a sale is under $1,000 and about $395 for sales over $27,000). He suggested listing an ambulance with a $35,000 minimum and said the county would either receive a check for proceeds after the sale or leave proceeds in an account held by the vendor for future county vehicle upfits.
Commissioners discussed logistics for vehicles that do not run; West said non‑running vehicles are moved by trailer or pushed/pulled into auction lanes. County staff indicated they would start by sending two ambulances to the next available auction and would coordinate additional vehicles with EMS and the sheriff’s office.
The Board approved the motion to proceed with the auction approach by a 3–0 vote. Commissioners also approved West’s conflict application by the same margin. The meeting record did not include a contract award or formal vendor agreement; commissioners authorized staff to pursue the auction arrangement and to report back.
