Commissioners say yes to purchase of vehicle for assessor, county employees

YORK COUNTY – The York County Commissioners have said yes to the purchase of a GMC Terrain SUV to be used by the York County Assessor’s office and other county employees as needed.

​Earlier, the commissioners requested some bids for a ½ ton pickup with a top price tag of $40,000, but Assessor Kurt Bulgrin said they only received one.
“It’s hard to find with that budget,” Bulgrin told the county board members. “I also think it’s hard to find that the assessor would need a pickup truck and when I talked with grounds/maintenance they said if they ever need to use a pickup truck, they just call the roads department to use one of theirs.”
York County Clerk Mary Melby said the same – if her office would need a utility vehicle to haul items like election equipment, she too would just ask to borrow one from the roads department.
“I’m requesting you reconsider purchasing a pickup and go with a smaller SUV,” Bulgrin said. “Plus, a pickup truck would use more fuel. Husker Auto Group still has a Terrain available for $31,297.”
It was confirmed this was part of the state bid, which allows for a cheaper price for entities like counties – which also allows them to make the purchase without having at least three bids.
“This vehicle is available now,” Bulgrin said.
“The only additional cost would be getting it striped (lettered, to identify it as being a county vehicle),” said York County Commissioner Chairman Randy Obermier. “This is a little different than what we talked about but he brings up a valid point in that other trucks are available from the roads department. It is a state bid so we can act on it. I recommend we use ARPA (federal COVID-relief) funds for this purchase.”
The usage of the vehicle will be logged and the schedule of usage will lie within the assessor’s office.
When it came time for the vote, Commissioners Jack Sikes, Andy Bowman and Obermier voted yes. Commissioner Daniel Grotz voted no. Commissioner LeRoy Ott was not present.