{"id":12770,"date":"2026-03-05T07:43:54","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T12:43:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spotlightonlevycountygovernment.com\/?p=12770"},"modified":"2026-03-05T07:45:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T12:45:28","slug":"hiers-kennedy-say-enough-commissioners-press-county-management-over-purchasing-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spotlightonlevycountygovernment.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/05\/hiers-kennedy-say-enough-commissioners-press-county-management-over-purchasing-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"Hiers, Kennedy Say Enough: Commissioners Press County Management Over Purchasing Practices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Commissioners say local vendors should get the chance to bid instead of the county defaulting to statewide contracts.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-c3d0492e9e682e575531f1f151d6835e\">By Linda Dean Cooper<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-7ce076962cc631831babbd948f2089c5\">What should have been a routine agenda item \u2014 approving the purchase of a replacement pickup truck \u2014 quickly exposed a deeper frustration from <strong>two county commissioners<\/strong>: how Levy County buys equipment and whether local businesses are ever given the chance to compete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e46372691d4ffe2b5e35e184a5faf671\">Solid Waste asked the Board of County Commissioners to approve the purchase of a <strong>2026 Ford F-150 crew cab for $48,066<\/strong> through the <strong>Florida Sheriff\u2019s Association purchasing contract<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b4b9f6e26ef861f3e6fbaafeb0533721\">The truck will replace a <strong>2002 vehicle with nearly 300,000 miles<\/strong> that had been used to haul the county\u2019s recycling trailer. No one disputed that the truck needed replacing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-95b3d4b4e08a64e97a60ce34891a693b\">But for <strong>Commissioners Johnny Hiers and Charlie Kennedy<\/strong>, the issue wasn\u2019t the truck. It was the <strong>process<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6f4e4f8fc9500b31f65fb06fddb95165\"><strong>And for local vendors in Levy County, that process may determine whether they ever get a chance to compete.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-8379942ad968e5605f63f7f16fbfb745\"><strong>\u201cIt\u2019s Been a Year\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4ea606ce26749f4cad18980563ac081a\">Hiers made it clear that the concern had already been raised with administration multiple times. \u201cI\u2019ve gone over that with <strong>Mary Ellen<\/strong>,\u201d Hiers said, referring to <strong>County Manager Mary Ellen Harper<\/strong>. \u201cI\u2019ve asked several times, and it keeps coming back that we\u2019re working on it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a2c7c5d5f662657ee831470d87ea2980\">Then came the line that captured the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6323bb3e331080dd7fe3842e309dd69a\"><strong>\u201cIt\u2019s been a year.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-be07c17ff5164063678dd38ce64941df\">Hiers and Kennedy say the issue is simple: <strong>local vendors are not even being given the opportunity to bid.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d84b57c136306bbe13ec90c19ce8e599\">\u201cIf the Sheriff\u2019s bid is the best deal, then fine,\u201d Hiers said. \u201cBut our local businesses should at least get the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-088801b7a2aec49fad4373d480108cae\"><strong>\u201cOur Hands Are Tied\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d130a66b53ee4a6277efe1d45e2b8bff\">Fleet Division Director Jessie Robinson, who oversees vehicle acquisition for county departments, explained that the county typically relies on the Florida Sheriff\u2019s Association contract because the competitive bidding has already been completed at the state level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-16f37f4ad10604a299b3dae3d8763ae7\">Robinson said departments often rely on those cooperative contracts unless the county issues its own Request for Proposals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-38e1422cf33b8a169eebb34fd767f554\">Issuing a full RFP, he noted, can take months. In short, Robinson indicated <strong>staff\u2019s hands are largely tied by the way the policy is written. <\/strong>That explanation did little to ease the concern from Hiers and Kennedy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-0fe6414ec5ff49a13c08c0b5d52e5973\">Their question was straightforward:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-09dbb028cbca804be35e509282443e91\"><strong>Is the policy really the problem \u2014 or has using the Sheriff\u2019s contract simply become the easiest path?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-76d35fe0ae6b9f535fd82bfd00dc08a1\">\u201cWe need to support our local vendors as much as we can,\u201d Hiers said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-b2a28123e89d9e1bf82f3589551fda8d\"><strong>A Management Question<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e03ddb3c1a853ed8a1898416f2ab09e6\">Cooperative purchasing contracts are legal and commonly used by governments. But Tuesday\u2019s exchange suggested the issue may not be the procurement policy itself. The county\u2019s rules already allow multiple purchasing paths, including issuing competitive bids or Requests for Proposals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-845c1a1cf6602b2a8e742e712f93a589\">The Sheriff\u2019s contract is simply one option. For Hiers and Kennedy &#8211; the concern appears to be <strong>how the policy is being applied<\/strong> &#8211; the policy says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-cb4f66ce23d1b693e715fe5ece0e8047\">If local vendors never get the opportunity to compete &#8211; commissioners argued &#8211; the result is the same, regardless of what the policy allows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-1a4de389acf650ac84eaca08a5095919\"><strong>Chain of Command<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-8970b9df6cb9bdd0acac15c3e5890f48\">Under the county\u2019s organizational structure, <strong>vehicle acquisition falls under the Fleet Division<\/strong>, which secures vehicles and equipment for county departments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ad0ad0b753330928ca01a67c4acab179\">Administrative oversight of purchasing practices ultimately rests with the <strong>County Manager\u2019s office<\/strong>, responsible for ensuring departments follow the direction of the Board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-c7c461d8d1f2a8597244d39e4492b1fa\">That is why Hiers\u2019 comment about raising the issue with Harper carried weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ff2953833294ed2caf24d2bc8519af35\">The concern had already moved through the administrative chain of command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-605cd409b0be88d11eaf73e242dcbe1e\">Yet the same purchasing approach continues to appear on the commission agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-fe21b92b95616160e6fa2d9c8943fb59\"><strong>Budget and Planning Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-acde1fed3bb0abc407331f2072f46f4f\">Robinson noted that issuing a competitive bid can take months. But the timeline raises a reasonable budget and planning question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1578f57f8f27305a547c5f29f751b0f1\">The vehicle being replaced is a <strong>2002 truck with nearly 300,000 miles<\/strong>, equipment that has clearly been approaching the end of its service life for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-04e9c56707022fb1f4357095d03a4fc8\">If the county has a fleet replacement schedule or justification form, commissioners and the public should be able to see it. That information was not included in the agenda materials or presentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f5541072fe1eabf449a9fa3e94ec87e7\"><strong>A truck with nearly 300,000 miles does not suddenly appear on the replacement list.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-c1ce0074d557e52c66a5a5cdf19903e0\"><strong>What Happens Next for County Purchasing<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-92b994b72c6549bcf956c6d6cab492c3\">By the end of the discussion, staff said revisions to the county\u2019s procurement policy are being drafted. Whether rewriting the policy will address the issue remains to be seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f3578ebd206f6382f3b6440e05df8f5b\">The frustration voiced Tuesday suggests a broader concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-0f7446260a5ef6ee6fb26780bffd8881\">If commissioners have been asking for over a year that local vendors be allowed to compete, the real question may not be the procurement policy at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f2640f474cfb9e7b6655fc745e869800\">It may be whether <strong>county management is following the direction of the Board.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-aa29ca8c261a3b08a39dcc1f17d76fde\">&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-68aa788e1ac62c13597cca3207442d26\">There are two Spotlight FB pages, one is private, and the other is public@ <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/3911325592491482\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/3911325592491482<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-09fa6b26954c55785faed91513112941\">Posted March &nbsp;5, 2026 | Spotlight on Levy County Government<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Commissioners say local vendors should get the chance to bid instead of the county defaulting to statewide contracts. By Linda Dean Cooper What should have been a routine agenda item \u2014 approving the purchase of a replacement pickup truck \u2014 quickly exposed a deeper frustration from two county commissioners: how Levy County buys equipment and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12771,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bocc"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Hiers, Kennedy Say Enough: Commissioners Press County Management Over Purchasing Practices - Spotlight<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spotlightonlevycountygovernment.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/05\/hiers-kennedy-say-enough-commissioners-press-county-management-over-purchasing-practices\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hiers, Kennedy Say Enough: Commissioners Press County Management Over Purchasing Practices - Spotlight\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Commissioners say local vendors should get the chance to bid instead of the county defaulting to statewide contracts. By Linda Dean Cooper What should have been a routine agenda item \u2014 approving the purchase of a replacement pickup truck \u2014 quickly exposed a deeper frustration from two county commissioners: how Levy County buys equipment and [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/spotlightonlevycountygovernment.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/05\/hiers-kennedy-say-enough-commissioners-press-county-management-over-purchasing-practices\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Spotlight\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-05T12:43:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-05T12:45:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/spotlightonlevycountygovernment.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/County-purchasing-closed-sheriffs-assoc-contract-pic-web.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"307\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"307\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"LindaC\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"LindaC\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/spotlightonlevycountygovernment.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/05\\\/hiers-kennedy-say-enough-commissioners-press-county-management-over-purchasing-practices\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/spotlightonlevycountygovernment.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/05\\\/hiers-kennedy-say-enough-commissioners-press-county-management-over-purchasing-practices\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"LindaC\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/spotlightonlevycountygovernment.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/428e331d5f7e0e22e261d62c580f55be\"},\"headline\":\"Hiers, Kennedy Say Enough: Commissioners Press County Management Over Purchasing Practices\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-05T12:43:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-05T12:45:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/spotlightonlevycountygovernment.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/05\\\/hiers-kennedy-say-enough-commissioners-press-county-management-over-purchasing-practices\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":792,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/spotlightonlevycountygovernment.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/428e331d5f7e0e22e261d62c580f55be\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/spotlightonlevycountygovernment.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/05\\\/hiers-kennedy-say-enough-commissioners-press-county-management-over-purchasing-practices\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/spotlightonlevycountygovernment.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/County-purchasing-closed-sheriffs-assoc-contract-pic-web.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Board of County Commissioners\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/spotlightonlevycountygovernment.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/05\\\/hiers-kennedy-say-enough-commissioners-press-county-management-over-purchasing-practices\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/spotlightonlevycountygovernment.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/05\\\/hiers-kennedy-say-enough-commissioners-press-county-management-over-purchasing-practices\\\/\",\"name\":\"Hiers, Kennedy Say Enough: Commissioners Press County Management Over Purchasing Practices - 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