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Bonner County declares eight assessor vehicles surplus after debate over proceeds and motor pool reuse
Summary
The county approved a resolution to surplus eight vehicles from the assessor's office after discussion about whether proceeds should return to the assessor's revaluation fund and whether some vehicles could be retained for county motor-pool use.
Bonner County commissioners approved a resolution declaring eight vehicles from the assessor's office surplus and available for sale or internal reassignment after staff and commissioners discussed accounting, reuse and motor-pool needs.
Assessor Englehart presented a memorandum and a resolution (Resolution 20Five-twenty4) listing eight vehicles the office proposed to surplus. Englehart said vehicle VINs and model years were provided in the meeting packet. When asked by a resident on Zoom for a brief description, Englehart read the list: "a 2004 Chevy Tracker, a 2005 Jeep Liberty, four 2011 Ford Escapes, a 2012 Ford Escape, and a 2016 Dodge Durango," and noted VINs are included in the packet.
County staff described the typical internal process for surplus: departments vet assets internally, identify county-wide needs, and only then put items on the public auction site if no other county department expresses interest. Bill Wilson, who manages motor-pool matters, told the board, "Our typical process ... is that we vet them internally and see if any other department has a use for those. That's usually how we do it."
Commissioners debated the accounting treatment of sale proceeds. The assessor said he would prefer sale proceeds be returned to the revaluation fund from which the vehicles were purchased; other commissioners said staff could evaluate whether limited reuse in the motor pool might reduce county costs while keeping the assessor's budget whole. The board agreed staff could evaluate internal reuse options but maintained the need to preserve the audit trail for funds originally spent from the assessor's budget.
After discussion and public comment, the board voted to approve the resolution declaring the listed vehicles surplus. The resolution directs county staff to vet internal reuse opportunities before offering vehicles at auction and establishes that proceeds will be handled consistent with county accounting and auditing requirements.
