City Council members Cory Johnston and Kristy Ottman were furious when asked to approve approximately $3,000 worth of repairs to the city’s Department of Public Works main snow removal truck.
The council voted 5-2, Nov. 27, to approve the repairs. Charles Inabnit and Ottman voted “no.”
‘I think it’s absolutely appalling that we got this at the end of November when it’s below freezing, snowing, and that truck has been sitting in the garage all summer doing absolutely nothing,? said Johnston. ‘A rusted out oil pan does not happen over night; that is a long term problem. The parking brake, that’s a safety issue, is rusted and needing adjusting. That should have been done. A leaking shock, a cracked belt, these are standard items that can be visibly checked anytime when that truck wasn’t doing anything.?
According to a report by DPW Director Bob Pursley, the clutch on the 1995 dump truck has had troublesince last winter. After taking the vehicle to three repair facilities, Pursley found out the clutch, brake diaphragms, front king pins on the left and right sides needed repair. The oil pan was almost rusted through and needing replacement because it was seeping oil.
Pursley recommended the truck be taken to LTM Auto, Truck, and Trailer to ‘do the repairs as their estimate is complete with parts, labor and appears to be the best price.?
Johnston was also upset Pursley signed for the work prior to board approval, which he said Pursley had ‘no authority? to sign for without council approval of an amount over $100. He also said similar circumstances have happened in the past where the council has ‘gotten stuck with the bill.?
‘This is just wrong,? said Johnston. ‘This shows bad maintenance, bad care, bad planning, bad budgeting, and bad preparation. I don’t know how many ways to put it, but this is wrong and now we have no choice but to pay for it.?
City Manager Dennis Ritter said the truck was sitting at LTM, waiting to be worked on.
‘If the council agrees to it than they can start work first thing tomorrow morning,? he said.
Ottman agreed with Johnston and said ‘never once? was the truck repairs brought up during DPW budget talks and meetings back in May or even before.
‘I just think it is egregious for a department head,? said Ottman. ‘We stripped a police car not that long ago for the same reason, because the value was not worth the repairs that were needed.?
She also called it ‘borderline unethical and a lack of integrity.?
‘This information was withheld and we were set up and it did not come to fruition until the snow was on the ground and we have no choice but to repair this vehicle,? she said.
Ottman said the snow-removal truck her husband drives has 576,000 miles on it, one set of brakes and has never needed the clutch replaced.
‘These trucks need to be cared for every single day. Not just once a month, not just once a year, they have to be greased,? she said. ‘There is a 20-point inspection you have to do before you even start that motor up and I know that because we personally pay the bills. This is costing our taxpayers and we don’t have the money to screw around with this anymore.?
Mayor Steve Arkwright asked if the council would have done something different if they would have known about these problems in the spring.
‘The depreciation value is simply an accounting issue. It pays no attention to whether the trucks have any value or not,? he said. ‘I’d rather spend $3,000 than buy a new truck, especially if we budgeted money because we knew there would be some maintenance required.?
Ottman said they would have looked more ‘aggressively? into snow privatization had they known the truck needed all those repairs.?
‘A lot of these repairs are things that have occurred during the course of the year the initial thing going to be repaired was the clutch,? said Ritter. ‘As time went on these other things popped up that’s why we’re looking at $3,000 expense.?
The city got the truck back on Monday.