Although the county went from nine dump trucks to seven, Wearren said he was able to pay cash for them as well as the backhoe and two pickup trucks with the rest of the equipment purchased from the road department budget.

“The biggest benefit of having the new equipment will be not having to service old equipment so much,” Wearren said. “We were putting a lot of money into repair costs for equipment that was old and needed to be maintained a lot.”

Wearren said some of the older equipment being used for daily use along some of the roads throughout the county was causing a safety hazard to passing motorists and road department personnel operating the equipment.

“We had equipment we were operating with that wasn’t safe,” Wearren said. “Now we will have equipment that is on the road instead of being in the shop.”

In August 2012, the commission did not approve permission for Wearren to sell old equipment and purchase new equipment until funding was found in the county budget to cover the cost of the equipment.

In October 2012, the commission gave Wearren permission to sell the older equipment and purchase new equipment due to concerns the older equipment would quickly have no value to the county.