CARROLLTON — The Carroll County Board of Supervisors was told Monday of a way to supposedly get better prices on just about anything from paper supplies to road and bridge work.
Vaughn Blaylock, business consultant and owner of Southern Procurement Services, based in West Point, urged the supervisors to consider reverse auctions.
According to Blaylock, this is how a reverse auction would work. Specifications for supplies, equipment or work projects would be compiled by the county. After the county advertised for bids in the local newspaper, Southern Procurement would also list them online, and multiple sellers could then compete. According to Blaylock, using this process, bids average 10 to 11 percent below paper bids.
“We compare apples to apples and get the best prices,” Blaylock said.
Southern Procurement’s fees are paid by the winning vendors.
According to Blaylock, several counties and towns in Mississippi already use the process.
No decision was made Monday on whether the county will use the company’s services.
Blaylock will come back at a later date to demonstrate the process. Board attorney Kevin Horan will check state statutes in the meantime.
The supervisors were also told about a proposed increase in the cost to dump the county’s garbage at the Leflore County Landfill.
Carroll County’s contract with the landfill, which is operated by Waste Connections Inc., expired at the end of February. Troy Thompson, the company’s district manager, told the supervisors that the dumping cost would rise from its current $22.93 per ton to $24. Also, the price would rise $1 per ton per year for the length of the five-year contract.
Thompson said the price is negotiable but the aim is to get Carroll County rates more in line with those paid by surrounding counties.
In other business, landowner Bo Jackson asked the board about its plans for repairing or replacing the 130-foot-long metal bridge on County Road 144, which has been closed for about a month.
Jackson asked the supervisors to consider closing the bridge permanently, which would result in a lengthy detour for some residents on what is also known as Nebo Road.
Herman Blackmon, representing family members who also own property along the road, said that they do not want the bridge closed.
County Engineer Shane Correro said the bridge could be repaired or replaced but no bids have been let on it. Whether the bridge is on the historical register will also have to be considered, as the register has its own set of guidelines, he said.
Supervisors made no decision on the bridge. Jackson said he will be meeting with the Blackmons to discuss the matter.
The board also:
• Approved Tax Assessor and Collector Wilton Neal’s request to change the present credit card service that uses phone lines to a new internet-based system, Certified Payments. Taxpayers who pay by credit card will see a cost savings of 1.65 percent on the fee charged, Neal said.
Initially, the Tax Assessor/Collector’s Office will be the only county department using the system. Other offices, though, are expected to join later.
• Agreed to purchase a new Ford Explorer with a police package for the Sheriff’s Department for $32,175 from a Ford dealership in Louisville. The vehicle will be paid out of the jail budget.
• Agreed to purchase a 612E John Deere tractor for Beat 5 at a cost of $39,562.
nApproved the purchase of a 2017 Ford Crew Cab from Kirk Auto Co. for $32,350.
• Heard a report from Sanitation Department clerk Dorothy Prewitt and adjusted delinquent accounts by either writing them off or placing a hold on vehicle tag purchases until the accounts are paid.
• Agreed to re-advertise for bids on Emergency Watershed Protection Project No. 68-4423-16-237, with bids to be opened May 1 at the Carrollton Courthouse.
• Approved the transfer of $184,208 from the general fund to the E911 fund.
• Approved a service agreement with Mid-South Copier System for equipment at the Mississippi State University Carroll County Extension Service in the amount of $518.
