A heated debate on Wednesday night whether to purchase a new fire department ladder truck generated the only sparks for this spring’s city budget deliberations.
Fire Chief Dale C. Herman and City Manager Rick Finn got into a disagreement over purchasing a new aerial truck for $1.3 million that would replace a 1986 ladder truck or refurbishing the 2004 Pierce truck for $220,000.
Mr. Finn argued that the city could refurbish the 2004 ladder truck, keep it on the road for another five to seven years and then replace it.
In the end, council members decided to wait on a new ladder truck.
Mayor Joseph Butler Jr. warned council members that the city will be taking on too much debt for a new $2.4 million pool at Thompson Park, about $3.1 million in a court expansion and other planned projects, so he opposed purchasing a new truck now.
“You can’t buy a pool,” he said. “You can’t buy everything else.”