Road & Bridge staff asks for larger equipment replacement budget as trucks and graders near end of life

Road & Bridge staff presented a 10‑year equipment replacement plan and told commissioners the current replacement appropriation is insufficient to keep critical heavy equipment and trucks in service.

Eric told commissioners the department is budgeted at $200,000 for replacement this year, a level staff said is too small to procure modern dump trucks, graders and other high‑cost items. “We’re currently budgeted at $200,000 — I can’t buy anything for $200,000. We’re gonna have to increase that line item so that we can replace our equipment,” Eric said.

Staff explained typical replacement costs: recent quotes for fully‑equipped dump trucks (including salt spreaders and plows) ranged from about $285,000 to $300,000. Staff said motor graders are another major capital item and that warranties typically expire around 7,500 hours; buying used graders often shifts risk to the county because rebuilt units are expensive and used units may lack warranty coverage. Commissioners discussed used or rebuilt options and lease/lease‑to‑own approaches; staff said suppliers sometimes offer lease‑to‑own payment plans but not simple short‑term leases.

Staff recommended increasing the capital replacement line closer to $1.0 million (or staging incremental increases over several years) to enable timely replacement and reduce downtime risk. Commissioners asked staff to evaluate cost‑benefit tradeoffs for buying new versus rebuilt or used equipment, to consider trade‑in and resale options (Purple Wave auctions were noted as the county’s usual disposal approach), and to return with a prioritized replacement list and estimates for the budget process.

Staff will provide a 10‑year equipment replacement schedule and cost estimates so commissioners can consider either a larger single‑year appropriation or multi‑year phase‑in of higher replacement funding.