The Boone County Fiscal Court recently approved funding for a $36,425 prison transport van for the Boone County Sheriff’s Department.
Both County Administrator Jeff Earlywine and Col. Les Hill, of the sheriff’s department, spoke to the Boone County Fiscal Court on the urgent need for an additional jail transport van. Hill said the current van is a 2012 model with over 300,000 miles on it.
Paul Miller Ford in Lexington urgently advised the county to order new vehicles within the next two weeks before the window closes, according to Hill. Otherwise, the vehicles won’t be delivered within the fiscal year, but there is such a large back order that that may be the case anyway.
The sheriff’s department fleet manager, who also spoke at the meeting, said eight trucks were ordered that have not been delivered for over a year. He also mentioned that a total of 35 SUV interceptors and administrative vehicles were ordered about two months ago and have not yet arrived.
The delivery is expected to arrive on June 30, 2023, at the earliest, but the department said that was questionable. If the vehicles arrive this fiscal period, money will be transferred out of reserve funds to compensate. There is no guaranteed delivery date at this time.
If the vans are not delivered in a timely fashion, it may be a problem for the department. There are no backup transport vans available and if an issue were to arise, the department would have to rent or borrow a vehicle from another department.