FARMINGTON — Rather than accept quotes as presented Tuesday, Franklin County commissioners opted instead to abide by the county’s policy of getting bids for purchases expected to cost $10,000 or more, including cruisers.
Steven Lowell, chief deputy of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, presented quotes for three cruisers available in Maine and Massachusetts. They are a 2023 Ford Explorer police interceptor, a 2023 Chevrolet Tahoe to be used for a K-9 unit and a fully outfitted Ford F-150 pickup truck. The combined purchase price would exceed $100,000.
The vehicles are needed to replace two police interceptors and a 2019 pickup truck that would then be sold by the Sheriff’s Office. Each of them has more than 100,000 miles on them.
“What bothers me is circumventing the bidding process,” commission Chairman Terry Brann of Wilton said.
“The thing that scares me is they won’t be there,” Lowell said, when the bidding process ends. It has been difficult for the Sheriff’s Office to find new cruisers for sale in the past few years.
Lowell said he contacted several dealerships and they don’t have vehicles available that can be used as cruisers. If they went with the quotes received for the vehicles, they would have about $30,000 left to outfit them, he said.
Commissioners instead voted to get bids on cruisers and bids for a maintenance program for the fleet of cruisers.
In other business, commissioners voted to accept a hiring committee’s recommendation to hire Jacob “Jake” Nichols of Livermore Falls as an information technology specialist. He has six years of experience and was chosen from four applicants.
Jim Desjardins, manager of the county’s IT Services, said Nichols will fit in well.
Money is in this year’s budget for the position.
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