Cloverdale council questions truck purchase

Tuesday, June 18, 2024 at 5:00 AM

Another month, another discussion about whether or not the town of Cloverdale needs a new dump truck.

However, this month, Cloverdale Town Council President Brandon Tancak urged his fellow council members to act on the best financial decision for a town that has several projects on the horizon.

In the end, the best financial decision was to table the matter for another month.

Town officials heard from town manager Jason Hartman, who had three quotes from three different dealers.

However, Tancak pushed for repairing the current dump truck, pointing to the fact officials have numerous future projects that will require financial resources.

"I think it would be wise to repair the dump truck. With inflation, say it costs us $100,000 in five years. Simple math, we budget 20 grand a year, instead of stroking a check," said Tancak, who added it may cost upwards of $12,000 to fix the current truck.

Hartman said he would accept a repair.

While Tancak was in favor of preserving what the town has, councilman Greg Jay entertained the notion of the town purchasing or buy out option.

"We would not have the immediate $65,000 to $70,000 output. We can do it over that four to five year period. Rather than budget, we make the payment," Jay said.

A potential issue with purchasing a vehicle, however, is Hartman said it could take up to 16 weeks from purchase to delivery.

Leasing a vehicle was also discussed, as Cloverdale Clerk-Treasurer Kelly Manners told the council they would be spending out more in the long run by leasing a vehicle and would lose some flexibility.

Manners told the council if they take on payments, it hurts moving forward, but if they are saving for a vehicle, they have flexibility on what to buy or when.