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Commissioners weigh lease vs. purchase for Road Department blades; consider savings fund
Summary
Road Superintendent Leonard Lujan told commissioners the lease for three blades runs about $100,000–$103,000 for the year. Commissioners discussed returning leased blades and buying replacements and proposed a Road Department savings fund to cover future replacements.
Commissioners and Road Superintendent Leonard Lujan debated whether to continue leasing grader blades or to buy replacements outright. Lujan said the lease cost for three blades is "Around $100,000 to $103,000 for the lease for three blades each for the year." Kevin McCall asked whether returning three leased blades and buying three new ones would yield a net gain; the exchange focused on the tradeoff between immediate cash flow and long-term capital replacement costs.
Chairman Ryan Schwebach and other commissioners discussed applying lease proceeds toward purchases and proposed establishing a Road Department savings fund so future replacement costs do not create recurring budget pressure. Schwebach said he wanted "to put a savings fund in the Road Department to get it up to the cost of a blade, where we have replacement costs."
