August 8, 2023
By: Dwayne Page
The Smithville Police Department wants to add a Polaris Ranger Crew XP 1000 to its fleet of vehicles.
During Monday night’s regular monthly meeting, the Smithville Mayor and Aldermen voted 4-1 to grant Police Chief Mark Collins’ request to apply for a grant to make the purchase.
According to Chief Collins, the grant is for $24,704 but the city’s matching portion is $6,176 or 25% of the cost.
Alderman Donnie Crook voted against adopting the resolution to file the grant application questioning the need for the Polaris and why the issue wasn’t brought up during the budget preparation process.
Chief Collins said he was unaware of the grant opportunity prior to passage of the budget and he gave his reasons for why the police department needs this vehicle.
“What I am interested in purchasing is a full size 4 door Polaris Ranger Crew XP 1000 which we can use in our work especially in a lot of places in town that are not accessible by car. We can also use it during all events held on the public square. Every year during the Jamboree we have to borrow vehicles because we don’t have any to get around downtown. We can’t drive a car around the square during the Jamboree so we usually get a side by side to move around and to carry stuff from here to there and we also have to use golf carts to get through the crowd. We also have a lot of places in town that are wooded areas and creeks that we can’t access by car. Last year there was a meth lab in a place like that and we had to get a lot of stuff out but we couldn’t get a vehicle to it at all but with this Polaris we would be able to use it for a lot of things. I don’t ever want there to be a tornado or anything like that but a vehicle of this kind would really come in handy if we had a major disaster here in town and with it we would be able to help in mutual aid with others like the fire department and rescue squad where it was needed. They are very useful,” said Chief Collins.
“We got a quote for this vehicle of $24,704 and for this, the city’s part would be $6,176 or 25% of the cost. This quote expires on August 24, 2023. A representative of the Polaris company told us we could go ahead and order this vehicle in August which would save us some money because if there is to be a price increase it would likely be in October so we can lock in the price now if we go ahead and order it. If we don’t get the grant, we can call the company and they would cancel this order at no charge. If we were to order it now it would be at least 120 days before we could get it. The funding for this grant isn’t until October 1 but we want to apply for it now because we believe we will get this grant based on the narrative we have described for the application as to why we need this utility vehicle. It falls right into the category of what they (grantors) want to hear. We will know by October if we are to get it,” said Chief Collins.
The resolution states as follows:
“Whereas, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the City of Smithville, intends to apply for and accept a Community Facility Loan and or Grant to be administered by the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA RD) herein called the Government in an amount not to exceed $25,000 under the terms offered by the Government. The purpose of said funds is to assist in the purchase of a full-size Polaris Ranger Crew XP 1000. Furthermore, the City of Smithville is hereby authorized and empowered to take all action necessary or appropriate in the execution of all written instruments as may be required in regard to or as evidence of such financial assistance; and to operate the facilities under the terms offered by the government”.
In other business, the aldermen formally adopted on 2nd and final reading an ordinance amending the city personnel policy regarding vacation time.
City attorney Vester Parsley said the intent of the amendment to the personnel policy is to clarify the language as to vacation time for city employees.
“The previous policy was unclear about whether you (city employee) had to wait until your (hiring) anniversary date (for a designated period of vacation time). We clarified that to say you don’t have to wait until your anniversary date,” said Parsley.
“The intent of the board was also that after the first six months of employment, you could get 40 hours (5 days) of vacation. In the original ordinance it talked about “weeks” but really, we were taking not about “seven” day but “five” day weeks or 40 hours so what we did was put in (specify) that after the first six months you get 40 hours (5 days) of vacation time. When you work a full year, you get an additional 40 hours (5 days) for a total of 80 hours (10 days),” said Parsley.
According to the policy, city employees who work at least 6 months from their hiring date earn 40 hours (5 days) of vacation.
Employees who serve for as long as a year (1-3 years) qualify for an additional 40 hours (5 days) of vacation for a total of 80 hours (10 days)
Employees who serve 4 years earn an additional 40 hours (5 days) of vacation time for a total of 120 hours (15 days)
Those employed 15 years or longer can take an additional 40 hours (5 days) for a total of 160 hours (20 days).
Vacation time cannot be carried over from year to year.