Trafford buys cars, other equipment

By Ben Montgomery

The North Jefferson News

The Trafford Town Council approved the purchase of several vehicles and pieces of equipment at its regular meeting on Monday.

The council voted to give Mayor Robert Niblett permission to purchase a new tractor to cut grass on the sides of the town’s roads.

“Instead of buying used equipment, we used money we’ve been saving for a while to buy a new tractor. It’s better equipment than we’ve had in a while,” said Niblett.

The council passed motions to purchase a city utility truck and another city vehicle, as well.

“We’re not sure what we’re going to use the city car for. We might use it for inspections, or just as a second city vehicle,” said Niblett. “We got a good deal on them both. We purchased them at the same time.”

The council also voted to purchase an additional fire engine for the Trafford Fire Department. The council had discussed the declining state of the fire department’s

equipment at the March council meeting. A new fire engine may improve the city’s fire protection rating, which can reduce its insurance premiums.

“We are doing very good at staying on top of it. I don’t see us having any kind of money problem down the road,” said Niblett. “We are careful with our money and the council does not purchase anything that’s not directly needed.”

In other business, the council:

• voted to purchase supplies to make repairs on roads. Niblett said this was in response to reports that Jefferson County was suspending repairs on county roads.

“It’s an extra expense, but we’ve got roads we have to fix,” said Niblett.

• discussed granting a request by Trafford woman Bobbie Gurley to build a boys’ home in Trafford. Niblett said the city could not grant her permission until she spoke with the state fire marshal office and took whatever action his office said to take.

“We really want to help her out, but we can’t give her permission until she speaks to the fire marshal. We have to be sure nobody gets hurt,” said Niblett.

• finalized paperwork to become a client of Revenue Discovery Systems (RDS). RDS provides services that help optimize revenue from sales taxes and business licenses.

• approved the purchase of computer software that would allow Trafford police officers to electronically file citations and other reports.

• voted to make repairs to city hall and several other public buildings.