The Baxter County Quorum Court has raised the county’s minimum expense threshold to inventory items.
Previously, any item purchased by the county costing $1,000 or more required that item be catalogued and maintained in inventory. Now, only items costing $5,000 or more must be tracked through the county’s inventory process.
State law requires that counties set a minimum price point to track purchased items and equipment, but does not set a specific dollar amount, County Judge Mickey Pendergrass said. The $1,000-threshold is believed to have been established by the Quorum Court back in 2002.
Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery told Quorum Court members that two decades’ worth of inflation meant many routine items like computers and lightbars for patrol vehicles now exceed the $1,000 cost point and must be tracked through the inventory.
The Baxter County Quorum Court will meet Tuesday. The meeting will be held at 6 in the second-floor courtroom of the Baxter County Courthouse. Some of the items
With all 11 justices present, in addition to housekeeping matters, the court gave its unanimous approval to
– an ordinance allowing the county to conduct business with Benny Magness, who serves as a pilot for the sheriff’s department’s helicopter. The ordinance will allow for the purchase of used electronic equipment to be installed in one of the department’s two helicopters to make it compliant with Federal Aviation Administration regulations. The ordinance notes the request was made “due to the unusual circumstances, and difficult to find appropriate goods, services and commodities.” Sheriff John Montgomery told the court the step would save his department about $10,000 over its original plan.;