By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
At Wednesday’s meeting, the Barton County Commission voted to ratify the
repair cost of a 2008 pickup that was fixed at Bob’s Service Center in Clafin
for $5,700.
While Commissioner Jennifer Schartz was fine with the expense coming before the
board, she wondered if the spending amount that needs to be approved should be
higher for department heads.
"What is the amount that Darren (Darren Williams, County Works Director) brings to us, if it's over $5,000?" asked Schartz. "Is that a reasonable amount of money? I know things are so expensive now. Should we change that to $10,000? It seems like $5,000 for a repair of a truck is very low."
Barton County Operations Director Matt Patzner said repairs do not need to be
sent to the commission unless the cost exceeds $15,000. For improvements or new
purchases, anything past $5,000 needs board approval.
Wondering if they needed to increase the procurement amounts, the commission
decided to leave the numbers as is.