After hearing that repairs for older dump trucks cost the Kosciusko County Highway Department $400,000 last year, county commissioners this morning set a bid letting date for the purchase of five new trucks.
It won’t quite catch the highway department up to where it should be, but highway Superintendent Scott Tilden said it’s a move in the right direction.
Tilden said he wants to purchase three new single-axle trucks and two tandem-axle trucks, which are expected to be cheaper to maintain than older vehicles. Tilden said it’s been 18 months since he last bid out for new trucks, part of an irregular replacement schedule that’s left them running behind.
Commissioner Ron Truex noted that highway equipment funds had to be used for road repairs before the passage of the wheel tax, which now provides a dedicated source of funding for road maintenance and frees other money for equipment purchases.
Truex said it was hoped the funding issue would resolve itself but it “went the other way instead,” causing the county to consider the wheel tax.
(Story By The Times Union)
