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During a recent meeting, the Harlan County Fiscal Court discussed the leasing of multiple Dodge Durango vehicles.

Harlan County Judge-Executive Dan Mosley asked Harlan County Treasurer Ryan Creech to advise the magistrates on vehicles the county is considering purchasing.

“We ordered 5 Durangos about two months ago,” Creech said. “So, we started looking to replace the Tahoe we have currently.”

Creech explained replacing the Chevrolet Tahoe with another Tahoe was not as financially feasible as replacing the Chevrolet with a Dodge Durango.

“We looked at replacing the Tahoe with another Tahoe,” Creech said. “However, we found we could get another Durango with lights cheaper than we could get another Tahoe…we decided to go with the Durango.”

Creech said a motion to enter into the least agreement would be required before moving forward.

“The payment will be $898.93 a month,” Creech said.

Mosley asked if the monthly payment included the credit for the Tahoe. Creech explained the payment did not take the Tahoe into account.

“So, it’s possible that’s a worse-case scenario,” Mosley said. “It may be cheaper because we’ll get a credit when the Tahoe goes back.”

Magistrate James Howard motioned to accept the lease agreement, seconded by Magistrate Paul Caldwell. The motion passed unanimously.

In other court activity:

• The court accepted the audit of the former Harlan County Clerk for the year ended Dec. 31, 2022;

• The court approved an increase of the Harlan County Sheriff’s 2024 Revenue Bond from $300,000 to $2.5 million for a new tax season;

• The court reflected the Harlan County Sheriff’s Qualifying Performance Bond for 2024 in the amount of $50,000;

• The report of the audit of the Harlan County Sheriff’s settlement for 2022 taxes for the period of Jan. 1, 2023, through Aug. 31, 2023, was accepted;

• The 2024 budget for the Harlan County Sheriff’s Office was approved;

• The 2024 salary cap for the Harlan County Sheriff’s Office was approved;

• The court accepted the Harlan County Sheriff’s 2022 final settlement for gas, subject to audit.

• The court accepted the Harlan County Sheriff’s 2022 final settlement for oil, subject to audit.

• A memorandum of understanding between the Harlan County Fiscal Court and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet for a bridging project on KY 72 was approved;

• Permission to apply for 2023 EMA Program funds was granted.