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York County assessor asks for dedicated vehicle, citing scheduling conflicts with veteran services
Summary
York County’s assessor told commissioners shared use of a county Equinox by the Veterans Service Office is limiting inspections; he requested a county-owned vehicle and offered procurement and usage details, with commissioners asking for more scheduling and cost data before taking action.
Kirk Buller, York County assessor, asked the Board of Commissioners to approve purchase of a county vehicle to support property inspections, saying current shared use with the Veteran Services Office (VSO) is hindering his staff’s ability to complete inspections and respond to permit work.
Buller told the board his office currently has “over 300 open permits” and “39 commercial permits” needing follow-up, and that the previous shared vehicle arrangement gives VSO priority when a veteran has an appointment — often to the VA in Omaha — leaving the assessor’s staff without reliable access. He said the county’s Equinox logged about 22,000 miles in total and that, based on a survey of 92 assessors in similar counties, many either have a dedicated vehicle or a shared county vehicle with a formal scheduling process.
Commissioners raised cost and utilization questions. One commissioner noted the county sometimes spends about $1,000,000 annually on rock and gravel for roads as an example of recurring operational costs, and others questioned whether existing vehicles could be scheduled more efficiently to avoid buying a new car. A commissioner asked whether mileage logs showed low annual miles (some logs showed several thousand miles) and whether a new vehicle would sit unused much of the time.
Buller said he had checked state contract bid options and that purchasing via the state bid typically saves taxpayer money compared with ad hoc local bids; he said the dealer had comparable GMC vehicles available under the state bid at the time of his inquiry. He also raised software and staffing constraints that make additional fleet capacity important to keeping inspection work current, and said potential funding sources discussed during the budget process included ARPA or inheritance-tax funds, but that ARPA has already been designated to other projects.
Several commissioners suggested alternatives the assessor’s office and VSO could pursue before approving a purchase: (1) improve calendar-based scheduling and coordination for the shared vehicle; (2) examine whether volunteers could be reimbursed for mileage when the county vehicle is unavailable; (3) check the county insurer/NERMA policies about using personal vehicles for fieldwork; and (4) gather a more complete year-to-date usage history so the board can compare utilization against purchase and lifecycle costs.
No formal motion to purchase was made during the meeting. Buller said he would supply requested follow-up data and return the item at a future meeting for formal action.
The board recessed to convene as the Board of Equalization before resuming county business; commissioners indicated the vehicle request would be re-listed on a future agenda for action.
