The Blytheville City Council Finance Committee met Tuesday to approve several purchases from within the city. The first item included a mowing tractor for Public Works. The tractor, which is a Kubota, is being purchased from Barton Equipment Co. of West Memphis for $24,000. Chief Financial Officer John Callens said the tractor was budgeted for 2019, however, because the purchase was over $20,000 they would need to get approval from the Finance Committee for the purchase and for waiving bids.
Public Works also had another purchase for a roll-off truck. Callens stated they originally looked for some used trucks, however, they did not have much luck. They did find one truck that was a 2013 or 2014, he could not remember specifically, with around 200,000 miles on it. The seller said someone had been test driving it and the rear end of the vehicle was vibrating pretty badly and he may have to have it replaced, which could drive the price up.
“That tells me, because here again like I said I used to have a trucking company, if its only got 200,000 miles, because on a rear end like that you should get a good 400,000 miles before you start having problems, it probably may not have been taken care of like it should,” Callens said.
He went on to say the department had budgeted $60,000 for the purchase this year, however, the city received a quote for $169,000 for a new truck. The deal with the new purchase, however, would have the city lease the truck for five years, which Callens said would probably put about 150,000 miles on the truck. The truck also comes with a five-year warranty that would cover any mechanical problems. The lease also comes with a guaranteed $55,000 buyback.
The committee also agreed to purchase a 2015 Caterpillar 420F 4AE backhoe for $60,000. Callens said the water department’s old backhoe had lasted them about 25 years and it desperately needed to be replaced. Callens said the CAT dealership in Jonesboro would not send the city a bill for the purchase until after 30 days and if the city noticed anything wrong with it during that period the dealership would have it fixed for free.
The committee also voted to amend the City Clerk’s budget for professional services by $6,000 for the codification that was mentioned in the Code Enforcement committee. The money increase came from general fund surplus.