If New Bedford firetrucks purchase request lingers, the price will go up $75K on Feb. 1

NEW BEDFORD — The cost of equipping the New Bedford Fire Department with a new pumper and ladder truck could increase by almost $75,000 if the city doesn’t get its act together by Feb. 1 on how to pay for it.

The city council was presented Jan. 13 with a request from Mayor Jon Mitchell and backed by Fire Chief Scott Kruger to take out a $2.4 million loan to cover the purchase of replacing two aging trucks — Engine 8 and Ladder 1.

Councilor Scott J. Lima said he spoke with Kruger and was told the price of the trucks would increase by 3% in February and urged his fellow council members to push the request through to a procedural “second reading” to be adopted.

However, Naomi Carney, councilor-at-large, put the brakes on that request and stood firm that the fire apparatus should be paid for outright with federal American Rescue Plan Act funds coming to the city. New Bedford stands to receive some $84 million in ARPA money.

Carney said there was nothing in the city’s ARPA proposed spending plan for public safety.

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“I am very upset and very angry that we are not taking this money and putting it where it should be,” Carney said, adding the intentions to replace Engine 8 and Ladder 1 have been in the works for over a month, yet the loan request gets to the city council in the 11th hour.

“Shame on the administration,” Carney chided. “All of a sudden we look like the bad guys.”

She urged that the request to purchase the trucks with ARPA money go before the council in its role as Committee on Finance. She motioned to do just that.

Councilor William Markey questioned whether sending the item to finance would have the request back to the council in time for its second reading prior to the Feb. 1 deadline when the price of the trucks increases.

Councilor Lima said sending the item to finance would only continue the “bickering” on how to pay for the trucks.

Councilor Hugh Dunn asked if it was possible to refer the item to finance and onto a second reading together to facilitate the process.

David Gerwatowski, city council attorney, said state law requires that such loan requests be passed to a second reading. He suggested that the council could send the request to the finance committee and onto a second reading and that combining the steps would mean the council could still have a final vote ready for its Jan. 27 meeting, if the finance committee meets before then.

Dunn amended Carney’s motion to include sending the item a second reading, which passed on a 9-2 vote, with Carney and Councilor Maria Giesta opposed. With the amendment passing, the council then voted on the entire package of sending to finance and onto a second reading, which passed on an 8-3 vote, with Carney, Giesta and Dunn opposed.

Dunn said later he voted to oppose the move to sending the request to finance because he wanted the apparatus purchase approved that evening. He feared sending it to finance will cause it to be delayed beyond the Feb. 1 deadline. He said he offered the amended to move to a second reading to make the best of a vote he disagreed with.

Engine 8 has been out of service for several weeks and Ladder 1 has been out of service several times for maintenance issues, Kruger noted in his request to the city council.

No matter how the firetrucks are paid for, they probably won’t be in service until 2023.

Kruger noted in his letter of request that due to supply chain shortages and the COVID-19 pandemic, it would take about 14 months to build the ladder truck from the day the purchase agreement is signed. Likewise he pointed out the pumper truck would take about a year to build and equip.

Standard-Times digital producer Linda Roy can be reached at lroy@s-t.com. You can follow her on Twitter at @LindaRoy_SCT. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Delay in New Bedford fire trucks purchase could mean price hike