Dear Editor,
I feel compelled to respond to Jennifer Ray’s letter to the editor about the SPLOST 10 published in the Aug. 29 edition of The Messenger.
Ms. Ray wrote, “For instance, you don’t want the sheriff to buy 30 vehicles at once when buying five vehicles annually over six years makes more sense.”I believe her sentence was rhetorical, but I do not want the public to think that I intend to buy 30 vehicles at once.
We usually buy three to four new patrol cars every year, which, as Ms. Ray stated, does, in fact, make sense. I would also like to point out that when it comes to vehicles, I never buy new cars except for the uniform deputies’ patrol vehicles. I have found buying used cars for my detectives and administrative staff more economical. Also, all of our ancillary vehicles were used when they were acquired.
Lastly, I would like the public to know that almost all of the ancillary vehicles and related equipment were acquired at no cost to the taxpayers of Putnam County.
Our prisoner transport and crime scene vans, our bus, our mobile command center and the truck that pulls it, both of our patrol boats and the structures they are kept in, all detective vehicles, the chief deputy’s vehicle, and my vehicle, were all paid for with monies condemned by the courts after being seized from criminals.
I wish I were in a situation where I needed to buy 30 vehicles. It would mean that I actually had enough deputies to be far more proactive in accomplishing my office's duties.
Howard R. Sills, Sheriff, Putnam County