A Pike County Sheriff’s cruiser is in jeopardy of being repoed by a financing company after the county is unable to afford to make the final payment on the lease.
The cruiser in question is a 2016 Chevy Silverado truck, primarily used in corrections, but is also used in law enforcement calls that may require a four-wheeled drive vehicle, according to Sheriff Charles S. Reader.
The payment issue boils down to the county being broke, at least that is what the county commissioners are telling the Sheriff and citizens. According to the commissioners, the issue with making the payment is not personal with the Sheriff; the commissioners claim the county is broke, and by this time next year, they will be operating in a deficit. As a result, the lease payment on the cruiser, which is due June 28, will not be paid.
The truck is likely to be repoed by Pinnacle Public Finance of Miami, Florida, who financed the truck for nearly $40,000 in 2016. According to public records obtained by the Guardian in a public records request to the Sheriff’s office, the vehicle is leased to the county commissioners and assigned to the Sheriff’s office. The truck was bought with earmarked money after the Sheriff’s office sold a K-9 vehicle to Waverly Police for nearly $40,000 in 2016. The money generated from the sale of the K-9 car was to be allocated, put aside, and “off-limits” in order to make the truck payments. According to public records, the county faced a penalty if they paid the vehicle off in full with the money in 2016, and instead, agreed to allocate the money and make scheduled annual payments; the commissioners agreed to make three annual payments of $13,476.97 each year until paid in full in 2019; the final payment is due Friday.
That payment, however, will be missed, according to public records.
A “budget action request” form signed by the Sheriff on May 28 asks the commissioners to pay the final lease payment, but two days later on May 30, county commissioners Blaine Beekman and Tony Montgomery denied the request. According to the Sheriff, he does not take the denial personally, and said that the commissioners have told all county agencies that no “additional” spending can be done this year. However, public records uncovered by the Guardian show that then-County Commission President Harry Rider signed an agreement in 2016, in accordance with state law, saying that the county “was good” for the money and they would make the payments, as promised. The state law that required the promissory note is called, “Restriction upon appropriation and expenditure of money” and says that the county must set aside the money, as promised, and that it cannot be used for anything else.
When the Guardian tried to ask the commissioners if they were in violation of the agreement and “promissory” note that was required by state law, none of the three commissioners would respond to requests for interviews.
The Guardian attempted to reach the commissioners to ask them what their plan was to spare the county from a financial crisis and operating in a deficit in 2020 — perhaps such as the proposal of a safety levy — but our calls were not returned.
According to records, the commissioners plan to place an EMS levy on the November 2019 ballot. When asked on Wednesday if the Sheriff supported turning the EMS levy into a “safety levy” that would also assist his office, he said he would support the levy and thinks the people would, too.
This a shame for a bunch of reasons. Over 200 years of reasons.