Commissioners question what to do with surplus office equipment

Bourbon County Commissioners are having discussions on what to do with some surplus furniture and equipment currently housed at the courthouse.

On Tuesday, Maintenance Supervisor David Neville told commissioners many of the surplus items he has found in the courthouse are four-door metal file cabinets.

“I’d say 85 percent is file cabinets,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s enough to warrant an auction and to pay an auctioneer,” Neville said.

Neville said there “about three dozen” file cabinets, but there are also “some desks and other odds and ends.”

“It might be more for scrap than an auction,” Commission Chairman Lynne Oharah said.

There was some discussion on whether a vendor might be interested in buying some or all of the items in bulk. Commissioners also talked about some options they may have as they work toward a decision. One option would be sending items to local charities.

Commissioners Jeff Fischer mentioned the possibility of “interoffice shuffling,” which would mean checking to see if various county offices could use items.

“So instead of a sale, maybe we could tag some items and shuffle them through (county offices) and what’s left over we can either recycle or sell,” Fischer said. “What you’re saying is there’s not enough marketable furniture to warrant an auction.”

“I know sometimes we’ve allowed employees a chance to purchase (items) and what’s left is put to the public,” Neville said.

During the meeting, Fischer did some research online to determine how much similar file cabinets were selling for on various websites. One site quoted $7 each for nine of the cabinets. Commissioners agreed that would not be enough to pay an auctioneer.

Oharah said commissioners are dealing with some “antiquated” items and it “might cost more to get rid of it.”

Commissioners agreed to talk to County Counselor Justin Meeks, who was not present for Tuesday’s meeting, and make a decision next week.

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