Published: May 16, 2008 12:05 am            

CITY OF LOCKPORT: Council likely to OK purchase of 2 new ambulances

The Common Council likely will sign off next week on the purchase of two new ambulances for the fire department.

Two vehicles can be obtained through a lease-to-own deal. The city would pay for them over a five-year term, at $54,000 per year, according to Fourth Ward Alderman Patrick Schrader, the Council’s liaison to the city fire board of commissioners. Interest of 3.25 percent is built into the annual payment. The trade-in value of two existing ambulances is taken off the top of the purchase price.

The lease-to-own deal is struck through a bank and avoids the city borrowing the purchase sum upfront on the bond market, according to Fire Chief Tom Passuite.

The flip side is that the yearly payments must be budgeted, and aldermen won’t be able to delete the payments in their annual budget-cutting exercises, Mayor Michael Tucker said.

The Council is likely to approve the purchase unanimously because of the fair-to-poor condition of the city’s existing ambulances. One is 12 years old and the other is 8 years old; the industry standard is to replace them every seven years, Passuite said, and LFD has experienced numerous times when one or the other was out of service to be repaired.

The new vehicles will be covered by warranty for five years.

LFD ambulances were sent out on about 3,100 calls last year. Ambulance calls comprise 80 percent of the department’s emergency response business, Passuite said.

The Council’s next business meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall.

        

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