BAKER CITY â Baker Cityâs most famous backhoe is finally on the auction block.
And itâs there with the approval of city voters, an endorsement not typically afforded to pieces of heavy equipment.
Future sales of such machinery, however, will not be subject to the whims of the electorate.
The story dates to 1952, when Baker City voters approved a city charter.
The document, among much else, requires city officials, before selling land or buildings with an estimated value of at least $5,000, or vehicles and other equipment worth at least $10,000, put the matter on the ballot.
The idea seems to have been that voters might want to have a say in whether the city disposes of relatively valuable, but publicly owned, items.