New vehicle shortage complicates county efforts to buy trucks

A shortage of new vehicles is causing problems for Bartholomew County government offices that need to purchase transportation.

The Bartholomew County Commissioners accepted bids for two new trucks Monday for the Code Enforcement office, but the bids were less than helpful.

Commissioners President Carl Lienhoop said that normally when you go with checkbook in hand to purchase a truck, dealers are eager to take your money. The county sent out bid requests to six dealerships.

Several normal bidders did not submit bids, another submitted a bid, but then had to retract it, saying that the trucks were not being made this year. The lowest bidder, Country Chevrolet, offered two Chevy trucks for sale at almost $45 thousand dollars, but they could not be delivered until December. The final bidder had trucks for sale now, but at nearly $6 thousand dollars more than the low bidder.

This was the second attempt to get bids for the two code enforcement trucks. Those bids ended up not being for comparable vehicles, Lienhoop said.

County officials took the bids under advisement.