ESCANABA — The Delta County Board of Commissioners voted to deviate from the county’s electronic assets disposal policy to sell excess radios to the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Department.

“These radios are specifically for public safety and homeland (security) purposes … and when you read this document I believe the intent — as you can see in the beginning as the “purpose” — is for computers, tablets cell phones, etc. I believe we were thinking of more office equipment when writing this and not towards law enforcement,” Delta County Administrator Ashleigh Young said of the county’s policy at Tuesday’s meeting.

The twenty Motorola APX 6000 800 MHz radios are unused and were purchased by the county new for Delta County Central Dispatch. Specifics about why so many additional radios were purchased by the county were not fully available during Tuesday’s Delta County Board of Commissioners meeting, but Commissioner Matt Jensen said it was his understanding that the radios were purchased using a grant and the excess radios may have given the county a quantity price break.

“We actually have more than enough spares or replacements on hand. These are above and beyond what we need,” he told the other commissioners Tuesday.

According to documents included in the board of commissioners’ meeting packet, the radios currently sell for $5,500 each from Motorola ($110,000 for 20). However, the county intends to sell the radios without batteries, which currently retail for $248 each, not including taxes or shipping. A depreciation of 10% per year for four years was applied to a base replacement value of $5,000 for the radio units without batteries, bringing the total value the county has placed on the radios to $3,000 each ($60,000 for 20).

The county’s electronic asset disposal policy states that all assets retaining substantial value — defined as 25% or more of the original purchase price — are generally to be disposed of either through an auction or by soliciting bids. Young told the commissioners that she had discovered Public Act 431 of 1984 allowed the county to sell surplus property directly to nonprofit entities, other local governments, or dispose of property through a public sale.

Dickinson County indicated that it would be willing to purchase the radios for $3,000 each in a direct sale, but not every Delta County commissioner was comfortable with the idea.

“I just feel that the general public should have the right to up that bid instead of us — maybe it’ll be less, I don’t know. That’s just how I feel because it looks like we’re favoring one entity over another and there may be another entity — and I’m all for helping other governments, it’s just I don’t feel right on doing it this way,” said Commissioner Steve Viau.

Viau, who represents the city of Gladstone until his term ends at the end of the year, asked if the radios could be used by Gladstone Public Safety. Young said she believed only Dickinson had approached the county about the radio purchase.

Viau’s question followed the recent decision by the Gladstone City Commission to levy an additional 4.5 mils on Gladstone tax bills earlier this year to support the city’s police and volunteer fire departments. That move, which placed an additional 2 mills on summer tax bills and 2.5 mills on winter tax bills, was legal under Public Act 33 of 1951, but was met with hostility from residents.

Beyond Viau’s question of whether or not Gladstone Public Safety had been considered for the radios, there was no discussion of Gladstone or any other law enforcement agencies. However, Jensen did say the decision to sell to Dickinson County’s sheriff’s department could have benefits for Delta County.

“That’s a county that we already provide mutual aid to so that will help facilitate that interoperability between our two counties,” he said.

When it came to a vote, Viau joined with the rest of the county commissioners to support the direct sale.