The Board of Harvey County Commissioners gave its consent Monday for Sheriff Chad Gay to order a $295,000 armored personnel carrier.
Delivery of a custom-built Lenco BearCat will not take place for at least six months, and commissioners can decide how they want to pay for the vehicle at a later date. The three options are to finance the vehicle through Lenco at 3.97 percent interest over five years; search for a lower interest rate from a company that is approved to do lease programs for local governments; or use reserve funds.
About one-third of the expense will be covered by a $50,000 pledge from Friends of ERT, which operates a fireworks stand in Newton and another $50,000 coming from drug-forfeiture funds. Gay previously said that he’s planning on spending $10,000 per year for five years from forfeiture funds for the BearCat.
Finance Director Dan Bronson said he was hesitant to use reserve funds because they still doesn’t know how much the planned renovations at the Law Enforcement Center will cost. He said payment probably wouldn’t occur until 2020, so commissioners and administration has time to consider options.
(Read more: Newton Now)