Allen County will take a test drive, of sorts, with a decision to lease two tractors from the local John Deere dealership. Mark Griffith, road and bridge director, asked commissioners to consider a proposal to lease tractors rather than purchase them outright, especially as county departments have faced numerous equipment breakdowns this year. Over the summer, the county’s newest boom mower caught on fire and was destroyed. It was covered by insurance, but led to a debate over how to best replace the county’s fleet of large, expensive machinery. The proposal from John Deere offered four tractors available for lease for between $56,000 to $60,000 per year. The cost of a new tractor would be somewhere around $200,000. … Commissioners were intrigued by the lease proposal, but reluctant to go all-in. Instead, they asked Griffith to look at leasing two tractors as a sort of trial run.
Source: The Iola Register
