County looks to purchasing new plow trucks, end loader in 2024

Aug 03, 2023

Members of the Taylor County Highway Committee on Tuesday morning gave their approval to a proposed equipment purchase list for the coming year, but with supply chain issues still disrupting heavy equipment, it is anybody’s guess when they could be put into service.

The proposed equipment schedule calls for the purchase of two singleaxle patrol trucks and plow equipment at $306,000 each, a front end loader for $180,000, a new pickup truck for $50,000 and $30,000 in other equipment as needed.

The total estimated cost is $872,000. The county uses equipment charges to the state and elsewhere to generate revenue for the equipment purchase account and it does not include any tax levy dollars.

Highway commissioner Ben Stanfley projected that the county would generate between $640,440 and $878,233 in equipment revenue in total by the end of the year. The equipment fund has $123,422 in reserves which combined would cover the planned purchases for next year.

Stanfley also noted that the county has about $1.2 million in the fund that has been earmarked for prior years’ equipment that the county has yet to receive. This has resulted in the county needing to invest in keeping trucks and equipment running that were slated to be sold off by now.

He said they are currently waiting on two other patrol trucks and plows and once they have them all in service will be able to sell off four patrol trucks. In addition they are waiting for a new trailer to replace their existing one in order to sell that. Equipment sales also go back into the equipment fund to help offset the purchase of new equipment.

Stanfley said the pickup truck will be to replace one that was rusted out and no longer safe to use.

For the end-loader, Stanfley asked committee members to approve purchasing it in advance of next year’s budget in order to secure a Volvo end-loader that is currently available that would be a twin of end loaders the county currently has in service. The cost of that would be $175,000.

Stanfley explained that the department would put the new end loader into service and shift existing end loaders to Gilman and then the Gilman one to Rib Lake and sell off the oldest one.

Committee members approved both the equipment schedule and the advanced purchase of the new end loader.

Committee members also reviewed the proposed 2024 budget. As with past practice Stanfley presented the zero increase budget requested by the finance and personnel committee and also a wish list budget showing where he thinks the county should be at.

The zero increase budget keeps expenses and revenues to $3.9 million with $2.87 million coming from the highway tax levy. This compares to the 2023 budget which had $4.4 million in spending with the levy covering about $2.8 million with an additional $650,000 in borrowing.

Stanfley said that under the zero increase budget, the county would be looking at paving 5 miles of road and chip sealing 22.41 miles. This would put the county at a 44.2 year life for pavement of roads.

Stanfley’s wish list budget would call for spending of $4.7 million with $3.7 million of that from the levy and another $833,820 in borrowing which would allow the county to pave 7.6 miles next year and chip seal 30.4 miles. This 21% increase budget would reduce the road lifecycle to 32 years.

Committee members voted unanimously to advance the zero increase budget to the finance and personnel committee for the budget process.

In other business commission members:

  Approved replacing a patrolman to fill the vacancy of an existing staff member leaving at the beginning of August. Stanfley said the individual left for other employment, but as one of the county’s bridge inspectors, left the county having to scramble to cover the inspections needed. Stanfley said ideally they would get someone from the Gilman area, which would help greatly with that route in the winter.

  Approved bridge aid requests for the town of Holway for Wren Drive south of Apple Ave. and south of CTH O. The county’s portion of the two projects is $16,314. In related action, committee members approved the bridge aid resolution putting $32,516 in the county portion of the bridge aid program over participating municipal tax levies. The resolution goes to the full county board in October.