Council, Fire Dept. Reach Compromise on New Fire Truck

The Oakland Borough Council and Fire Department reached a compromise last week to purchase a new fire truck.

The borough awarded a $607,259 bid to Pierce Manufacturing for a new pumper truck in April, according to borough administrator Richard Kunze, with the option of ordering a second at the same price.

Members of the Oakland’s volunteer fire department lobbied the council for the additional truck at a meeting last month, citing safety concerns arising from having 20-year-old plus trucks in the department’s fleet.

The older trucks, they said, are frequently used as back-ups when repairs take the main vehicles out of commission.

The council had balked at the request over concerns that purchasing two trucks in the same year would lock the borough into large, lump sum expenses for truck replacements in the future. The borough has a 20-year replacement target for fire trucks, and council members had raised the issue that purchasing two trucks every cycle would be too large a fiscal burden on the borough.

According to Kunze, both trucks being replaced were purchased in 1993. To break the cycle, the council will order a new truck in December but not take the delivery until Jan. 2015. Ordering the truck early avoids annual price increases enacted by the manufacturer, council members said.

Mayor Linda Schwager had suggested at the June meeting that the borough establish a fire truck trust fund to spread out the expense of new trucks over the long-term.

The additional truck purchase will be included in a capital bond ordinance introduced at the council’s July 24 meeting.

Councilman Chris Visconti said that the compromise had been reached after meetings with fire officials, who thanked the council for addressing their appeal.

“It was a give and take,” former fire chief Robert Knapp said. “It wasn’t our way or the highway, or your way or the highway.”