Smithville Mayor Josh Miller is asking the Smithville Fire Department for more purchasing options for replacing one of the fire engines. Miller addressed the board of aldermen last Thursday during a budget meeting, saying, “I have concerns. I, myself, have a problem with one truck, one number, and three different options to pay for that truck, and nothing else on the table. It doesn’t look good.”
The remarks came after Smithville Fire Chief Charlie Parker requested the purchase of a Pierce Custom Enforcer PUC Pumper, currently priced at $1,248,449, with a prepayment discount of $130,143, making the city’s actual cost $1,118,305. The request was made on April 14 during a budget meeting, where Parker stated that the delivery of the proposed fire truck would be 37-38 months of order date and would only cover the cost of the truck itself, not the hoses and other equipment. The request would replace the department’s current 2001 model.
According to Parker, the cost of equipment needed for the new truck would range between $150,000 to $200,000.
“If I’m sitting at home, and I don’t have anything to do with city government, I’m looking at the newspaper or on WJLE, and I’m seeing something was passed without any other options, the appearance of that does not look good, Mayor Miller told the board.
“I do not feel comfortable in voting for something that expensive, $1.2 million, without something else to look at. I honestly think Charlie (Fire Chief Charlie Parker) should have put more options on the table.”
“I spent most of my day on the phone with sales reps, and I haven’t even seen specs on the one (fire truck) that Charlie has. I talked to a guy that sells to Cumberland County. He’s sold to Putnam County, and I’m not talking city, I’m talking counties. And even Donny Green (DeKalb Fire Chief) had bought some of these trucks, Rosenbauer.”
“I’m not saying that this is the truck to buy,” Miller continued. “I’m not saying buy it or don’t buy it. I’m just saying that there are options. Don’t bring me one number and not bring me more options.”
“I was trying to get it as close to this other truck as I possibly could, but the price was $819,000. Now again, this may not be apples for apples, and I’m not saying that it is. But, with the extra storage, you’re looking at somewhere around $860,000. This was a 1,000-gallon pumper.”
“I reached out to the Cumberland County Fire Department, and they love their trucks. I didn’t talk to the chief, but I talked to the chief in Putnam County, not city but county, and they had nothing bad to say about these (Rosenbauer) trucks.”
“The perception of this I do not like,” Miller told the board. “Spending that much money without having other things on the table. I’ll be honest with you, if this $1.2 million is voted on May the 5th, if I don’t get four votes, there’s a likelihood I’d veto the budget. All I’m doing, is I want options. I want to make sure we’re getting a good truck for the money.”
“I know Pierce is a great truck, it may be the best truck, but when we have a budget that we’re fixing to pass with $1.2 million in it, and we’ll go $1.5 in the hole, we might be able to afford the best truck. I think we need to look at options and make a decision before the end of the year in December.”
While Fire Chief Charlie Parker was out of town and not present at the meeting, Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Wright was in attendance and spoke to the board. “I know that last two engines we bought, we did not do a bid. We bought them straight up, because of the inside connections we have with Peirce. The pumper (fire truck) that you’re talking about, it’s not close to Pierce.”
Miller responded by saying, “One department told me that they like their truck better than Pierce. Again, I’m not saying that’s the truck to buy, but Pierce is not the only truck out there.”
Wright agreed saying, “It’s not. They have a longstanding history with the fire department business as far as making apparatus. We’ve been very fortunate to purchase the three we have.”
Wright continued, saying he had not received the same feedback about Rosenbauer trucks as the mayor. “I’m not going against what you’re saying, but some of the people I know that have used those weren’t very happy with them. But you get that with all of them too.”
Wright also claimed that while working in Murfreesboro, some other brand fire trucks purchased by that city, admittedly not Rosenbauer, had been delivered with ‘check engine’ lights on and other defects.
Wright also said that the city’s price for a Pierce truck would actually be cheaper than usual due to connections with the company with local firefighters.
Wright also warned about the possibility of truck prices increasing over the next few months. “I know last year Charlie asked for another truck and from last year to this year the price for the same truck went up $200,000.”
“I’m not knocking Pierce at all,” Miller said. “I’m just saying there’s not been a lot of options put on the table. I don’t want it to look like we’re rubber stamping something and sending it on through because it’s the only thing on the table.”
When asked how much it would cost to update the current engine, Mayor Miller said he was floored. He reported that it would cost $650,000 to bring Engine 2 up to current safety standards, which includes 67 safety updates.
Even so, Mayor Miller is requesting other options for the city to look at. “At the end of the day, it’s what we can afford that will get the job done.”
