Brian Johnson is wasting at least $100,000 the town does not have and needs to borrow.
It must be nice to spend endless funds of taxpayer’s money.During the last annual town meeting, the taxpayers sanctioned Brian Johnson’s proposal to BORROW $172,525 to buy a new dump truck. The purchase is planned to replace the heavy duty dump truck built by International. The town bought the truck in 1996.
What I learned is that the truck needs to be driven to Wales to be pressure washed as Holland does not have the equipment to power wash the dump truck and other equipment.
As a result, the back of the dump body is rusted out from all the salt exposure during the winter.
The back of the dump body has been welded several times by Herrick Everett Welding & Mach, at 51 East Brimfield Road in Holland, see picture on the right!
Brian Johnson drove the truck to Herrick a while back to have it fixed again and Herrick told him that the back of the dump body is beyond repair. Brian Johnson’s answer allegedly was:
Now Brian Johnson is planning to spend $172,525 on a new dump truck.
It was difficult to get any information about the age and mileage of the truck that Brian wants to replace. I tried to get the information from Brian's secretary, Kristine laPlante. She said that I should call the Higway Department... Yeah right, as if Brian would even talk to me!
However, I found out that the truck is a model 1996 International with only 60,000 miles.
When the engine, as the one that is installed in the Highway’s dump truck, is compared to a human heart, 440K miles would represent a 95 year old human; the engine of the dump truck Brian Johnson is planning to replace would be a heart of a human at the age of 13 years.
Considering the circumstances, Brian Johnson had several other options that would cost the taxpayer just a fraction of the $172,525.
- The town could buy a new dump body for approximately $20,000 to replace the rusted dump body. The engine, frame and cabin, of the truck they have are in good condition and the truck would last another 10 years.
- The town could buy a used truck for about $45,000 like the one pictured below and save more than $125,000.
To see the online listing of the truck shown in the picture above, click here!
The truck shown is a used 2004 International 7300 Dump Truck that would only cost the town $43,500 instead of the $172,525.
The truck has the short wheel base needed for Holland’s tight spaces, has only 24,649 miles, a Henderson 9 foot steel, sander body, plow & sander controls, DT466, fuller 6 speed w/ 2 speed transfer, and last but not least, good tires.
To visit the Internatiional truck’s manufacture website, click here, then click on “TRUCKS” and then on “Search” and enter “dump truck” and press “ENTER” to see brand new trucks manufactured by International.
The town could even buy a newer truck with higher miles for the same price, as the Highway Department does not put many miles on the truck anyway (60,000 in 14 years).
I’m sure that the Highway Department with George Carling as the new leader will spend $1,000 on a 10 horsepower Honda pressure washer and will get into the habit of washing down our expensive Highway Department Equipment on a regular basis, especially in the winter, to get rid of the salt.
Brian, a power washer could be a good investment for your own company, J & G Construction.
June 5, 2010, Peter Frei
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