LAWTON — The Comanche County Board of Commissioners has denied the assessor’s request for financial assistance to buy a new vehicle for his office.
The commission voted March 6 to reject Assessor Grant Edwards’ request for $10,253.67, which would have come from the general commissioners’ contingency fund. That money would have helped cover the cost of a new vehicle for the assessor’s office.
The assessor’s office planned to buy the new vehicle to replace one that was totaled in a Jan. 17 accident, which involved one of Edwards’ staffers. The request for financial assistance represented the difference between the cost of the new vehicle and a $14,043.33 payout from the county’s insurance carrier.
“This was a vehicle that the schools purchased for us, so I think we need to go ahead and get it replaced,” Edwards said Monday. “It’s going to be a 2023 Equinox, which is about the same size of car that was wrecked.”
Edwards said his office tried to buy the new vehicle from a local dealership, but that would have been too expensive.
The assessor’s office received a bid from the Carter Chevrolet dealership in Okarche, which showed that the dealership had four 2023 SUVs available for purchase on a state contract. Those vehicles were:
A white 2023 Chevrolet all-wheel drive Traverse, costing $31,097.
A black 2023 Chevrolet front-wheel drive Traverse, costing $28,900.
A black 2023 Chevrolet FWD Equinox, costing $22,500.
A white 2023 Chevrolet AWD Equinox, costing $24,297.
Edwards’ request for assistance drew a strong objection from Comanche County Commissioner Josh Powers, who said the general commissioner’s contingency fund should be reserved for emergencies or unexpected expenses in an economic crisis, such as a recession.
“I don’t believe purchasing a replacement vehicle for the assessor qualifies, nor do I believe the commissioners who established this fund intended for it to be used that way,” he said.
Powers said he had not seen a bid for the new vehicle from the Chevrolet dealer in Comanche County, and he wondered why the assessor’s office hadn’t given that dealer an opportunity to bid. He added that he had contacted the dealer and learned that the dealer had not been asked to submit a bid.
“Again, this isn’t an emergency,” Powers said, “There’s no reason we shouldn’t give our local dealership an opportunity to bid on a large purchase like this.”
Commissioner John O’Brien said he thought the county had received a bid from the local dealer.
“But apparently, we didn’t get a quote,” he said.
Edwards said he had obtained a bid from the local dealer, which he presented to the commission. That bid arrived about two weeks after the bid from the Okarche dealership.
O’Brien proposed tabling the matter, giving the commission time to review the local bid, but Powers said he would rather proceed with a vote on the issue.
All three commissioners ultimately voted to deny the request.