The Sunflower County Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of two new garbage trucks during a heated portion of Monday’s meeting.
The board ultimately selected Burroughs Diesel as the winning bidder. The decision, however, was not without significant disagreement among board members.
Prevention Maintenance Supervisor Tim Howell presented bids from three vendors, outlining their offers as follows: Tristate Truck Center with a bid of $271,000 for a truck; Truckworx in Jackson, offering a bid of $265,000 for a Kenworth model; and Burroughs Diesel from Laurel, which submitted the lowest bid of $249,600.
The board chose Burroughs Diesel's offer, which includes a 2025 model expected to arrive in 14 days, followed by a 2026 model in approximately six months.
The meeting escalated into a contentious debate as supervisors questioned the specifications of the trucks.
Board President Gloria Dickerson stated, “We were getting two trucks.”
“Yes ma’am,” Howell replied.
“I think we need to look at, I mean we’re just seeing prices here. What kind of trucks are they?” asked District 1 Supervisor Glenn Donald.
Howell noted that he had presented photos of the trucks in question to the board previously.
“These are – I brought in pictures of those. They are the Western Star 43 or 4700s,” Howell responded.
“Okay, what kind of truck does Truckworx have?” Donald asked.
“Kenworth?” Howell replied.
“I don’t know; I’m asking questions,” Donald said.
“Well, the Mac…” Howell began.
Donald interrupted, stating, “Listen, this is what’s important. I wish we could slow down. What’s important is what kind of trucks are they? We bought those Eagles; they were no good. I'm not trying to keep bringing it up. You just can't go by price.”
“None of these are cabovers,” Howell stated.
Donald said that he is concerned about multiple aspects of the trucks, including the engine quality.
“They were too low to the ground and all this kind of stuff,” Donald said. “They were too heavy. They were sinking and getting stuck. I'd rather pay more money for a truck that is a better truck than pay less money for something that’s going to be a problem to me.”
“I have the specs here again that we went over in the board meeting,” Howell replied.
“That’s why I wanted to be a part of the bid, so we would know all that instead of somebody just sending us something on some paper,” Donald said.
“But you have the specs now,” Dickerson responded.
“Yes ma’am,” Howell confirmed.
Donald emphasized, “You get a chance to ask the people what the loads are, what they are pulling, what the axle is, all that, than just seeing it on paper, you get to talk to the people. And you can get prices down. You just don’t jump at the first thing they got. When we bought those Eagles, we got $20,000 off of that and saved $40,000 because we negotiated with them. So, you just don’t sit there and look at this and say, okay, we'll take this for two forty-nine six. It’s two forty-nine six for a reason.”
Dickerson added, “And the only reason why we bid them out is to look at the prices.”
Donald countered, “No, you need to look at the trucks also, Mrs. Dickerson.”
“I understand that,” Dickerson said.
Donald continued, “It’s a reason why that truck is higher – $271,000; it’s a reason why $265,000 is higher. It ain't the days that it's being held out. It’s a better truck.”
Dickerson responded, “I don’t know how to judge whether it’s a better truck or not.”
“Well, I do. That's what I do for a living,” Donald said.
District 2 Supervisor Riley Rice: “All right, he said the 2026 is maybe five or six months. Now, which one do we wanna do? Do we wanna wait on the 2026? Or do we wanna get the, the,”
Dickerson: “2025, and 2024?”
Rice: “Yes.”
Donald responded, “I don't.”
Rice added, “I'm not asking the board now what we need to make a decision on.”
“Mrs. Dickerson, madam president, we made this mistake one time and it cost over half a million – cost $600,000 – for a bunch of junk,” Donald said.
“Well, that’s what you call it – junk,” Rice said.
“Yes, junk,” Donald said.
Rice told Donald that when the county purchased the previous trucks, they had little choice in the matter.
“You called it junk, yeah, you call it junk. That's all junk they had, too. That's all the junk they had, unless you want to wait until they make some trucks. We couldn't wait, Glenn,” Rice said.
“Well, Mr. Rice, we can wait now,” Donald replied.
Rice concluded, “Well, that’s what I'm saying. I'm talking about going on and getting this.”
In the end, District 3 Supervisor Roger Anthony made the motion to proceed with the purchase, which Rice seconded. The motion passed with a 4-1 vote, with Donald voting nay.
Further discussions regarding the logistics of truck delivery and integration into the existing waste management fleet are expected in upcoming meetings.
