The Mount Vernon City Council has approved the acquisition of a new Rosenbauer Pumper truck for the Fire Department, amounting to $1.17 million. The decision was made during the council's meeting on November 19.
"If you remember last in 2022, we bundled our new fire engine, and we bundled a new medic. Still haven't received that new medic yet, but we have received that new engine," said Mount Vernon Fire Chief Chad Christopher during the meeting. "But the last engine was like $860,000. They've went up considerably to 1 million, 170 some thousand for a fire engine."
Christopher explained that the city will make an initial payment of $170,000 to Rosenbauer upon signing the contract. Subsequently, payments of $300,000 will be made in February over the next three years to finalize the purchase. He noted that it takes approximately 900 days to build the pumper truck and timely payments will secure a $53,200 discount for the city.
Safety-Service Director Tanner Salyers said that funds for the down payment are available in the city's General Fund from previous fire equipment purchases. The city follows a rotation schedule of three and five years for acquiring new medics and engines respectively, with old vehicles holding some trade-in value. To manage future purchases without seeking large sums from the council each time, Salyers mentioned they plan to request $375,000 from the General Fund continually until price adjustments necessitate changes. He added that more expensive ladder trucks are replaced every 10 to 15 years and require additional funding.
Salyers also highlighted that Mount Vernon participates in a cooperative purchasing program with other municipalities to obtain better pricing on such acquisitions.
