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Wilkes-Barre budget has $7.4 million balance at three quarter mark of year

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Hazleton council mulls long-term financial plan

Luzerne County&#8217;s approach to selling unused vehicles is confusing and riddled with errors, former county controller Walter Griffith asserted Wednesday.The county published a classified ad Wednesday setting a Nov. 4 deadline for bids and directed prospective buyers to a sale reference number on the county website.Griffith, who owns an auto repair business, pointed out there was no sale under that reference number on the website. There was a link about bids for vehicles, but it had a different reference number and an Oct. 7 deadline.Presuming this was the correct listing of available vehicles, he questioned why the first item on the list &#8212; a dark blue 2006 Dodge Charger with 50,797 miles &#8212; was listed at a minimum bid of $500.&#8220;If you bought it on the market, you&#8217;d probably have to pay at least $2,000. They should be selling it for what the vehicle is actually worth,&#8221; said Griffith, of Kingston Township.He attempted to check the history of this Charger through the vehicle identification number (VIN) the county listed on the sale sheet, but the VIN was only 16 characters instead of the required 17. Ten vehicles are up for grabs, and Griffith pointed out three others had the incorrect number of VIN characters.&#8220;Interested buyers can&#8217;t even go online to see if these vehicles have ever been in an accident or the type of engine they have,&#8221; he said.The county risks losing out on revenue due to inaccurate or incomplete bid information because prospective buyers may give up and not bother contacting the county procurement office for additional information, especially if they believe the deadline has passed, he said.&#8220;How are we going to get anyone to submit offers if we&#8217;re not going to make sure this information is accurate?&#8221; Griffith said.County Purchasing Director Mark Zulkoski said the online listing with an Oct. 7 deadline is an accurate inventory of what&#8217;s available. The administration opted to advertise again because no offers were received by that date, he said.Zulkoski said he had submitted an updated sales listing with the Nov. 7 deadline and correct sale reference number to the Information Technology department to add to the county website and was not sure why it had not appeared online the day the classified ad was published.Purchasing relies on the road and bridge department for both the VINs and suggested starting bid amounts, Zulkoski said, adding he would take steps to ensure accurate VINs are listed for the vehicles.Road and bridge indicated all the vehicles have high mileage or require costly repairs to make them safe and operational, he said.&#8220;That&#8217;s why they are not being used, and the administration believes it&#8217;s best to get them off the county insurance to save money,&#8221; Zulkoski said.The county periodically sells unused vehicles, typically once a year, he said.Interested buyers can bid on only one vehicle or all and must submit a deposit totaling 10 percent of the bid amount, Zulkoski said.Zulkoski plans to change the process and hold an auction to sell future batches of unused vehicles and other equipment because the county has purchased a new record storage building in Hanover Township that contains a large parking lot that will accommodate crowds and a vehicle display, he said.The administration also has proposed a website upgrade that would make it easier to post updates and navigate purchasing department information, he said.In addition to vehicles, the county is selling a loader, generator, a piece of welding equipment and 23 non-motorized boats previously used at the formerly county-owned Moon Lake Park in Plymouth Township.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Jennifer Learn-Andesjandes@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>More informationA listing of Luzerne County vehicles and other items available for purchase will be posted through the procurement link at<a href="http://www.luzernecounty.org/procurement" target="_blank"> www.luzernecounty.org</a>.Wilkes-Barre officials also are holding a public auction at 10 a.m. Oct. 22 at the city public works garage, 3 Conyngham St., to sell more than 15 vehicles, three motorcycles and a 12-ton Mack dump truck. For more information, call Clark&#8217;s Auction Service at (570) 693-0372 or visit<a href="http://www.auctionzip.com/cgi-bin/auctionview.cgi?lid=2803086&amp;kwd=&amp;zip=18711&amp;category=0" target="_blank"> www.auctionzip.com</a>.</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</shirttailMeta></div>

Effectiveness of Luzerne County’s attempt to sell unused vehicles questioned