Butler County lost money auctioning off 47 printers no longer used after vendors were switched.

The auction, which was held Tuesday, brought in $356, but cost $1,061, leaving a $705 deficit.

County Commissioner Leslie Osche said in an interview the auction being in the red was no surprise.

Due to information security issues, the machines’ hard drives were removed before the auction. To be usable, new hard drives need to be installed.

Commissioner Kevin Boozel said the auction’s loss is part of the overall equation that still leaves the county better off down the road.

“Short-term loss for a long-term gain,” Boozel said.

The expense to hold the auction was divided into the $500 auctioneer’s fee and $561 for advertising costs.

The county this year switched from using three vendors — Ford Business Machines, Canon Business Solutions and Van Dyke Business Systems — with 50 separate contracts to one vendor, Xerox.

Under the old contracts, the county bought the machines. The current printers are leased from Xerox.

The company committed to a benchmark of reducing total printing expenses by an eventual 30 percent by the end of the five-year contract.

If the county was not streamlining its printing services, it would pay $13,372 monthly or $160,464 annually, according to a Xerox pricing summary.

A full story will appear in the Butler Eagle.