Madison County generates more than $28,000 from surplus vehicle sale

Oct 31, 2018 4:12 PM

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EDWARDSVILLE — Madison County generated more than $28,000 in revenue by selling surplus vehicles at a recent auction.

Last month, Madison County held the auction at the Wood River Facility and sold more than a dozen vehicles and equipment, totaling $28,148.

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“By auctioning unused property, we generated revenue for the county and encouraged fiscal responsibility,” Chairman Kurt Prenzler said.

County Board member Tom McRae, Bethalto, commended Purchasing Director Linda Ogden during a Finance Committee on Monday for putting the event together. McRae said he attended the auction.

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“It was successful,” McRae said. ““The county received retail prices on most of the vehicles. I was surprised by how much we actually got on some of them too.”

The items, which were sold to the highest bidder, included trucks, box trailers, SUVs, cars and vans.

Prenzler said it was good the county was able to generate revenue from the sale of the property.

The county tries to recycle or re-use of equipment and materials no longer needed by county departments before disposing of them. The county initiated a program 12 years ago making vehicles available to governmental entities for $1 after they are taken out of service due to high mileage or age.

“Often times fire districts and the county’s smaller police department purchase the vehicles,” Prenzler said. “No matter how the county sells its surplus vehicles the taxpayers win. The county recoups some costs or a government entity saves money by purchasing a decommissioned county vehicle rather than buying a new one.”

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