What would you think of a county commissioner who said this at budget time?: “Our current road grader has been reliable and we’ve never experienced any problems. But, with age you start needing repairs, and the cost of those repairs and so forth are things the court is going to have to consider going forward.” And then suggested taxpayers buy a new road grader, or maintainer, because the new versions have neater gauges, newer paint, and the crew members who drive the maintainer would really like it.
That’s exactly what Taylor County’s election administrator was reported to have told county commissioners according to an Abilene Reporter-News story.
Speaking of the county’s election equipment the administrator said that “present system has been reliable” and added “we’ve never experienced any problems.”
But because it isn’t the newest and neatest system, like the one she went to see in Lubbock County and because the older system might need a repair at some undetermined point in the future, commissioners should consider having taxpayers spend two million dollars to buy a new system.
The system Taylor County has works and the older it gets the easier it is to buy spare units for it for very little money if and when something fails. There are plenty of counties like Lubbock that waste taxpayer money buying new systems when such are not needed and the vendors take the old equipment and sell it again.
The Taylor County elections administrator would not be due criticism if there was a serious deficiency in the county’s election system but, by her own admission there is not. Buying something new is putting wants ahead of needs to a tune of two million bucks!
Taylor County: $2 million for wants ahead of needs is bad policy
That’s exactly what Taylor County’s election administrator was reported to have told county commissioners according to an Abilene Reporter-News story.
Speaking of the county’s election equipment the administrator said that “present system has been reliable” and added “we’ve never experienced any problems.”
But because it isn’t the newest and neatest system, like the one she went to see in Lubbock County and because the older system might need a repair at some undetermined point in the future, commissioners should consider having taxpayers spend two million dollars to buy a new system.
The system Taylor County has works and the older it gets the easier it is to buy spare units for it for very little money if and when something fails. There are plenty of counties like Lubbock that waste taxpayer money buying new systems when such are not needed and the vendors take the old equipment and sell it again.
The Taylor County elections administrator would not be due criticism if there was a serious deficiency in the county’s election system but, by her own admission there is not. Buying something new is putting wants ahead of needs to a tune of two million bucks!