Buying power

Cape Girardeau County Treasurer Roger Hudson thinks he can save the county money by centralizing purchasing of office supplies and equipment.

Centralized purchasing would enable the county to buy more items in bulk and to buy through state contracts.

In Cape Girardeau County, department heads only have leeway to spend less than $150 without permission from the county commission, but even at that Hudson says they could be spending too much for those smaller items.

In Hudson's plan, the purchasing agent and the department heads would work together to find the best price for purchases over $150 before going before the commission.

Sheriff John Jordan is concerned that centralized purchasing would mean another level of bureaucracy to go through to get supplies that sometimes are needed quickly. But having adequate supplies on hand simply requires good planning.

Some taxpayers and officeholders long have advocated that the county could get by without the position of treasurer. The treasurer is in charge of receipts and deposits for 45 county bookkeeping accounts and invests county money. Hudson, elected in November, has started his tenure with a plan that puts him -- if he were the purchasing agent -- in a position to save taxpayer money.

Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones is behind the idea. The full county commission has not yet decided whether to proceed.

We advise care in buying through state contracts, because they don't always provide the same level of service a local provider can. But if Hudson thinks he can reduce the $60,000 a year the county spends on office supplies, let's give him the chance.