Supervisors consider waiving second quote on heavy equipment repairs

Published 3:44 pm Thursday, February 26, 2026

Lauderdale County supervisors are considering measures to cut costs and speed up repairs of heavy equipment. The Board of Supervisors is expected to vote Monday on a measure to waive the need for two quotes in some cases.

State purchasing laws require counties to get at least two quotes on purchases between $5,000 and $75,000 and advertise for bids for projects and purchases over $75,000.

Road Manager Rush Mayatt on Thursday said repairs for heavy equipment can easily reach that $5,000 threshold, but getting two quotes isn’t as simple as it sounds. Much of the county’s equipment is dealer specific, with proprietary parts other dealers will not have access to, he said.

“We can’t shop around,” he said. “There’s not multiple people out there.”

Getting two quotes for repairs also frequently means transporting the machinery from place to place. Moving heavy machinery, especially machinery that isn’t operable, is not a simple process.

The requirement to get two quotes can be a good thing, Mayatt said, but in this case it means more time is spent repairing equipment and higher costs for the county.

“It creates an extra step and a lot more headache, as well as additional cost,” he said.

Board Attorney Lee Thaggard said there are exceptions to the purchasing rule for instances such as sole source products or proprietary parts, where getting a second quote isn’t an option.