Calhoun County Supervisors approved the purchase of a new garbage truck Thursday morning, but not without a lot of debate between Board President Barney Wade and Dan Reese, who oversees the county's solid waste department.
Reese began by providing the board with a report on how the department finished 2015. He said they "ended last year in black, despite paying $30,000 for a truck."
Barney Wade
Reese said the 2011 Isuzu garbage truck will be paid for next month, leaving the county only one left on which they're still paying.
"Financially, we're in good shape and can afford two truck payments," Reese said.
He also noted that they "got a little behind on picking up garbage during the holidays because we got down to one truck." Reese said they borrowed a truck from another county to get caught up.
Wade questioned the overtime costs in the methods the department used to get caught up.
Reese said they try to eliminate that as much as they can, but there are instances where it can't be avoided. He also provided some statistics saying the county was among the best in the region when factoring tonage dumped and homes covered per employee.
"Our productivity here in Calhoun compared to other counties is very good," Reese said. "He said that is due in part to using county inmate help.
"We desperately need a truck and would like the board to approve the low bid from PacMac for the Freightliner," Reese said.
"We can buy all these new trucks, but if you don't maintain them, we'll have to buy a new one every other year," Wade said referring to reports he's received that the solid waste department is keeping the equipment in good working order.
"We're getting a lot of mileage out of them," Reese said of the trucks. "There's always room for improvement."
The board approved the purchase of the truck for $137,268 unanimously.