County poised to save $140,000
WAYNESBURG – A vehicle lease agreement with Enterprise Fleet Management is expected to save Greene County taxpayers about $140,000 over the next 10 years.
The Greene County commissioners during their Thursday morning meeting approved a five-year agreement with Enterprise to provide the county with new vehicles, while also covering maintenance costs and providing roadside assistance.
The county currently owns 41 vehicles that are used by employees in the sheriff’s office, as well as in various departments including human services and assessment.
“It’s a great deal, not only for the money we’ll save but for the fact that we’ll have newer, safer vehicles for our employees,” Commissioner Blair Zimmerman said. “Employees who are out and about will also have piece of mind knowing that if something happens, they’ll have roadside service.”
Under the agreement, the county will pay about $5,000 a year for each vehicle, Chief Clerk Jeff Marshall said.
The program will be phased in with older county vehicles being replaced first, Marshall said. The agreement doesn’t cover vehicles in the county transportation program or maintenance vehicles such as large dump trucks.
The county will end up with new vehicles that get better gas mileage and are better maintained, Marshall said. Because the vehicles will be returned to the company after five years, county employees also be driving newer, safer vehicles, he said.
The leased vehicles will be returned after five years and sold by Enterprise. Any money the company receives from the sale in excess of the vehicle’s equity value will be returned to the county, Marshall said.
Several other counties, including Beaver, Westmoreland and Lackawanna, have similar agreements with Enterprise. Greene County, in fact, participated in the bidding process conducted by Lackawanna County.
In other business, the commissioners approved an agreement to transfer ownership of Murtha Drive to Franklin Township. The county has been responsible for the cost of maintaining the road since it was constructed in 2006 for the Waynesburg Crossing retail complex. The county recently repaired the road and agreed to provide $250,000 it earmarked for further road work for the road’s eventual resurfacing.
Franklin Township will be able to receive state liquid fuels money to help cover the costs of road maintenance, revenue that was not available to the county.
The commissioners also appointed Zimmerman the designated signatory for the Community Development Block Grant program and Mike Belding, a Greene County Conservation Board member, to alternate representative to Penn’s Corner Resources’ Conservation and Development Council.