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Spalding County approves $610,000 public-works supplemental, board asks about director vehicle access
Summary
The Spalding County Board of Commissioners approved up to $610,000 for public-works equipment and upgrades and authorized using proceeds from surplus vehicle sales to offset purchases. Commissioners asked staff to return with detail about county vehicle access for certain department directors.
The Spalding County Board of Commissioners voted Jan. 6 to approve a supplemental public-works purchase list not to exceed $610,000 and to apply proceeds from the sale of five surplus county vehicles toward that total.
The supplemental request included a proposed pole barn (not to exceed $50,000), emergency light towers, upgraded message boards, a large equipment trailer, a flail mower, three upgraded ZTR (zero-turn radius) mowers, a Ford F450 dump truck or equivalent, a barricade truck and a Ford F250 crew cab for parts. County staff described the higher-priced ZTR mowers as an upgraded safety model designed to operate on steep slopes.
Commissioner Gwen Flowers Taylor raised concerns that the 911 director and the animal-shelter director currently lack county vehicles to use during the workday and asked that staff return with options. The county manager told commissioners that some vehicle assignments and fleet resources will be reviewed and brought back for consideration at a future meeting.
Why it matters: The purchases affect public-works capacity, mowing and roadside maintenance, and emergency-response equipment. The board’s choice to use sale proceeds from surplus vehicles to offset these purchases reduces the immediate draw on general fund reserves but still commits an upper-limit amount the county may spend in 2025.
Details cited by staff: The public-works director’s list included: - Pole barn: not to exceed $50,000 - Emergency light towers: not to exceed $135,000 - Portable message boards: existing units transitioned to four boards (costs in supplemental) - Large equipment trailer: not to exceed $33,000 - Flail mower: not to exceed $135,000 - Three upgraded ZTR mowers (safer for slopes): combined price reflected in the $75,000 line-item cited during discussion - Ford F450 dump or equivalent: not to exceed $125,000 - Barricade truck: not to exceed $125,000 - Ford F250 crew cab (for parts): not to exceed $63,000
Commission action and next steps: The motion to approve the purchases and to use surplus-vehicle sale proceeds carried unanimously. The board directed staff to return at a subsequent meeting with recommendations about providing county vehicles or other transportation solutions for department directors who currently must use personal vehicles for county business.
The board also approved the surplus of five public-works vehicles earlier in the meeting; the sale proceeds were presented as the intended offset for the supplemental purchases.
