DAYTON, Tenn. - Bar codes on Rhea County's growing inventory soon will help finance department personnel track what's coming in and when it's time for an upgrade, officials said.
Crystal Vest, the county's purchasing clerk, said that though it took her a good bit of time initially to get bar codes placed on all the county's physical assets, "It's going to be a big improvement."
Vest said she'll scan bar codes now with a hand-held scanner similar to what grocery stores use and set up parameters to determine the assets' name and location in the county. That information then will be imported into her computer software, she said.
Rhea County's Purchase and Finance Committee director Bill Graham told committee members that county employees in recent months had used a 10 year-old computer system. He said they had to manually input all of the county's inventory items and needed a newer system.
The new "Arrival" tracking scanner will help the purchasing department to know "things that are moved and who they belong to," Graham said.
He said that, in prior years, equipment might show up in the purchasing office without proper identification to show what department to credit for removal. The hand-held scanner will help the purchasing department to identify property accurately and more efficiently, he said.
The scanner will track and report the items' purchase orders and delivery and keep track of damaged items, if needed, according to maker Pitney Bowes' website.
A countywide audit hasn't been completed, but Vest said she plans to work at county officials' offices after she's completed the importation of the county schools' assets.
The scanner will cost the county about $200 a month for a three-year contract, Graham said.
In Rhea County's 2010 audit by the state's comptroller of the treasury, the county received a notation for deficiencies in maintenance of county and county schools' capital assets and for deficiencies in controlling inventory record keeping of non-depreciable assets in the finance department.
For more information about this year's audit, log onto www. comptroller1.state.tn.us/ca.
Kimberly McMillian is based in Rhea County. Contact her at kdj424@bellsouth.net.