Schuylkill County Commissioners were split but ultimately approved a plan to lease 3 Subaru Impreza cars for the Tax Assessment office.
These vehicles will be used by County employees tasked with doing field work during the upcoming property tax reassessment. Over the course of 5 years, the County will pay $18,237 annually to lease the vehicles. These are 5 year leases on each car.
Schuylkill County went outside the County to find the vehicles, getting them from Steve Moyer Subaru, of Leesport, Berks County. The leases are through Mauch Chunk Trust Company, of Jim Thorpe, Carbon County.
Chief Tax Assessor Kent Hatter argued the previous week that these vehicles were necessary to protect employee safety. After all, they’d be equipped with GPS and that’s important because, according to Hatter, it’s not the same world it used to be and road raging drivers put Courthouse employees at risk.
Schuylkill County Approves Leases on 3 Reassessment Subarus
The spend-happy GOP Commissioners Boots Hetherington and George Halcovage approved Hatter’s plan. Democrat Commissioner Gary Hess dissented with his vote but he thinks this was a good idea. Nay, a “great” idea.
“I really don’t have an issue with this. I think it’s a great idea,” Hess said Thursday morning, just before voting against the plan.
Hess explained that the reason he’s voting against it, essentially, is that Hatter is using an out-of-county dealership to get the vehicles. But it’s not because getting the cars from a Schuylkill County dealer would support local businesses who, presumably, hire local employees.
No, it’s because the County wouldn’t get a cut of that sale on the back end. Hess said his vote against the plan is because, “If it was a County vendor, at least we get taxes collected on top of it. That’s where I have a problem with all of this.”
Not one person on the Commissioners board think there’s anything wrong with an American government buying a Japanese car. And not one of them questioned why the County needs 3 vehicles.
According to Hetherington, the Tax Assessment office has one vehicle. It’s in “bad shape” according to what Boots said at their most recent meeting.
He added that he believes Hatter did make several calls to local dealers and those businesses didn’t return calls. When the idea was first mentioned, Hatter said that “one” local dealership didn’t return a call for an offer.
“This was not a case where it was done haphazardly,” Boots said.
He also praised Hatter for going “the extra mile” in finding a better lease deal with the Jim Thorpe bank than was offered by Subaru.
READ MORE:
- Schuylkill County Apparently Needs 3 New Subarus From Outside The County To Do Property Tax Reassessment
- Those New Courthouse Subarus, The Mean Streets Of Schuylkill County, And Why We’re Not Getting The Deal
Subscribe to Coal Region Canary
Get email updates from Coal Region Canary by becoming a subscriber today. Just enter your email address below to get started!Support Coal Region Canary
Like our reporting and want to support truly local news in Schuylkill County? Your small donations help. For as little as $5, your contribution will allow us to cover more news that directly affects you. Consider donating today by hitting the big yellow button below ...