The Guilford County Board of Commissioners just authorized nearly $2.75 million to cover installment loan payments to pay for a whole lot of new cars, trucks and other vehicles.
The big beneficiary is the Guilford County Sheriff’s office which got the vast majority of the new vehicles.
Nearly all of the autos and items in the contract are already in the county’s possession. The county voted earlier to buy them on credit and then make good on that loan at a later date, which they did on Thursday, June 5.
The big auto purchase is part of the county’s ongoing vehicle replacement and expansion program for the current fiscal year, fiscal 2024-2025, which ends on June 30.
Years ago, the county paid cash for vehicles; however, for the last few years – since the county has been short on cash and short on savings – county leaders have relied on loans for vehicle purchases.
This time around the loan was from Banc of America, a subsidiary of Bank of America.
The contract approved June 5 provided payment for Guilford County’s financing of $2,746,000 worth of vehicles at an interest rate of 3.4 percent over a 48-month term.
Guilford County purchased fifty-seven vehicles in all, with fifty of those designated for the Sheriff’s Office.
The remaining vehicles include two ambulances for Emergency Services and trucks, vans and sedans for departments such as Fleet Operations, Inspections, social services and public health.
On January 18, 2024, the Board of Commissioners adopted the Vehicle Project Ordinances, which gave the county the formal authority to order the approved vehicles. According to the agenda information, all of those vehicles have been received except for the ambulance boxes that are intended for installation on new chassis. Those components remain on order.
To secure the best financing terms, the county issued a Request for Proposal in April 2025, which was sent out to more than 60 financial institutions. Nine qualified responses were received, offering interest rates ranging from 3.4 percent to 5.4 percent. County staff evaluated the proposals based on interest rates, the credit quality of the lenders and the terms of early repayment. Banc of America was ultimately chosen as the financing partner offering the best overall loan package.
Law Enforcement – where deputies often have to drive very fast, stop fast and even ram other vehicles to get them off the road – was the largest beneficiary, with $2,152,000 of the money going toward replacement vehicles and related upfitting for that purpose, including $126,000 specifically earmarked for patrol vehicles in Jamestown, which is offset by user charges.
Emergency Services received two new ambulances under this round of funding.
Guilford County has already allocated money from prior budgets for other Emergency Services purchases, including two more ambulances, three ambulance boxes and related equipment, totaling $1.33 million.
There have been supply chain challenges ever since the pandemic that have constrained the availability of complete ambulance units.
Among the vehicles not going to the Sheriff’s Office are five Chevrolet 2500 trucks for Animal Control, trucks as well as SUVs for new Planning and Inspections staff hired in the prior fiscal year, and some hybrid sedans for public health and social services workers.
One major addition in the package is a $429,471 mobile clinic van for Public Health. That’s being funded with Medicaid Maximization dollars.
A total of $5,486,471 has been identified in county vehicle needs, with $2.7 million coming from this financing contract.
The remainder of the funding is being sourced from $1.8 million in prior-year appropriations for vehicles, $460,000 in savings from unfilled county positions, $126,000 in user charges tied to Jamestown Patrol services, and the Medicaid funds just mentioned.
Many of the replaced vehicles are aging, have exceeded recommended mileage thresholds, or are considered no longer cost-effective to maintain.
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The huge torrent of money that pours into Guilford County’s coffers, and they can’t even pay cash for their cars, as they always did.
So they buy them with a big loan, like an impoverished teenager who’s just begun to work at McDonald’s.
The Guilford County Commissioners are profligate and irresponsible.
Guilford County has been trained well by our National Government in going into deficit spending.
Gee, if you didn’t have all Skip’s pet projects and other racists giveaways, maybe you could not have that car loan. Guess if you did that you couldn’t buy and payoff alot of votes.
I understand our Guilford County Sheriff has a Chauffeur, is he upgrading his Guilford County Ride to a Limousine? Just think how many more vehicles would be required if the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department didn’t have so many vacancies? Maybe the County could put raises for our First Responders on the same credit card!
I think he has a driver because he doesn’t have a drivers license
Deficit Spending…
Deficit spending occurs when a government, or any entity, spends more money than it brings in through revenue during a specific period, leading to a shortfall. This shortfall is then covered by borrowing or drawing down on savings. In the context of the U.S. federal government, it means spending more than is collected in taxes and other revenues.
It looks like Duke Skip and his merry band of sycophants have decided they don’t need to worry about how much they spend since all they have to do is bleed their peasants for more money. They apparently believe they have secure seats because their thralls will continue to return them to thrones.
“That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government…”
“But, when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.”
“For imposing taxes on us without our consent;…”
Does any of this sound familiar? Does any of this motivate the Conservatives/Republicans of this County to turn out in masse to remove these Non-Representatives (Democrat and Republican) that seem to have forgotten who they work for and instead believe we work for them.
A note from Duke Skippy…knell before us thralls and do not question, just obey!
Pay cash, stop all the wasteful spending on racist social programs
Just…..even more debt. Planning for the next “shortfall”. At our home, we try to pay in cash, or not buy it. Works pretty well for us. No debt means you have more money to live on; and we certainly need it to finance our government’s debt.
debt = slavery