Clark County Commissioners tell auditor to back off of car deal

Clark County

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August 17, 2012

Clark County Commissioners tell auditor to back off of car deal

Snelling, Rodden had presented plan to council for sheriff’s vehicles

By MATT KOESTERS matt.koesters@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Fri Aug 17, 2012, 08:00 AM EDT

JEFFERSONVILLE — The Clark County Commissioners passed a resolution that essentially told the county auditor to back off of a plan to purchase 20 pursuit vehicles for the sheriff’s office at their regular meeting Thursday.

“As a matter of policy and law, the auditor of Clark County has no authority to negotiate with outside vendors, bankers nor enter into contracts for any police cars or any other products without the express written consent of the Clark County Commissioners,” reads the resolution, “who are by law the only duly designated purchasing agent for Clark County Government.”

Auditor R. Monty Snelling and Sheriff Danny Rodden had presented a preliminary plan to the Clark County Council at a Monday meeting. The plan called for the purchase of 20 Dodge Chargers for the sheriff’s office, which would be paid for out of the sheriff’s commissary fund and monies discovered by Maximus Cost Allocation, which recovers child support fees for the county.

Before presenting the resolution, which the commissioners adopted unanimously, Commissioner John Perkins questioned Snelling about the plan, taking umbrage that the commissioners had not been consulted before the presentation.

“I thought it was very peculiar when I read that in the paper, in that I don’t believe the commissioners were ever even asked about those new cars, since we’re the ones that are going to have to do purchase orders and sign contracts,” Perkins said.

“There’s nothing that’s been purchased yet,” Snelling replied.

Commissioner Ed Meyer added that he had heard from several Ford employees who were upset that the plan called for the purchase of a competitor’s product when there are upwards of 1,000 Ford employees living in the Clark-Floyd area.

“You’re not a Ford man?” Meyer asked.

“I could care less,” Snelling said. “The only thing I can say ... the new Ford, they’re all six-cylinders with super-chargers. When the super-chargers start going bad after the warrantee, you’re looking at a lot more money.”

Snelling added that the comparable Ford model costs $3,500 more per vehicle, which would add about $75,000 to the purchase price, including interest.

In addition, the resolution passed by the commissioners called for an audit of the sheriff’s gasoline purchases, charge bills for fuel paid out of the commissary fund and vehicle purchases.

Perkins expressed concern about a large vehicle purchase, given the county’s financial shape, pointing out that county employees had not received a raise in more than three years and had their Public Employee Retirement Fund benefits slashed.

“For the commissioners to do what they did tonight, it’s very surprising to me, especially in an election year,” Snelling said after the meeting. “... We’re not just talking about the sheriff’s department, we’re talking about the whole county. It’s a safety issue.”

MOORE, COMMISSIONERS STILL FIGHTING OVER ANIMAL SHELTER

Jeffersonville Mayor Mike Moore appeared before the commissioners to once again try to get the county to pay for a portion of the operating expenses of the J.B. Ogle Animal Shelter in Jeffersonville. Moore argued that the county council had approved the commissioners’ appropriation to pay the bill already.

“They’ve approved it,” Moore said. “You’ve got the money.”

Meyer responded that although the council had approved a line item for the animal shelter in the commissioners’ budget, the council had slashed the budget by $1.2 million, and that the commissioners had been forced to reprioritize.

“It was either health insurance and things like that, or [the animal shelter],” Meyer said. “When that [budget] is cut $1.2 million, something had to go.”

Meyer said the city and the commissioners needed to have an interlocal agreement in place to get the bill paid.

“I’m not disagreeing with you, Mike, that the county needs to pay for their share of the animal shelter,” Perkins added. “But I think that when we do that, we need to come up with a new agreement that everything is out there on the table.”

During a heated exchange in which both parties reiterated their positions, Moore left the office of the commissioners mid-exchange.

For more about Thursday’s commissioner meeting and the Clark County Council’s budget hearings, look at Saturday’s edition of the News and Tribune.