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Published: 11/2/2009 | Updated: 11/10/2009
By EDWARD HUSAR
Herald-Whig Staff Writer
The Quincy City Council sidestepped a major stumbling block Monday when it voted 9-5 — and received a vital 10th vote from Mayor John Spring — to amend the city’s budget to allow the purchase of two new firetrucks.
The council authorized the $1.07 million purchase last week on a similar 9-5 vote, but the budget still had to be amended to reflect the financial maneuver. This required 10 votes, and the bare minimum was reached.
Ordinarily, the mayor doesn’t vote on council issues — except on matters involving the budget.
Earlier at Monday’s meeting, the council voted 9-5 to approve a bank loan for the $729,172 in local funding needed to help finance the two firetrucks. The loan from the Bank of Springfield’s Quincy office will carry a 2.91 percent annual interest rate and require monthly payments of $11,049 for six years.
The five aldermen who voted against the bank loan were the same who voted against amending the ordinance: Kyle Moore, R-3, Paul Havermale, R-3, Mike Farha, R-4, Tony Sassen, R-4, and Dan Brink, R-6.
Voting in favor of both proposals were Ben Bumbry, D-1, Virgil Goehl, D-1, Steve Duesterhaus, D-2, Dave Bauer, D-2, Mike Rein, R-5, Jennifer Lepper, R-5, Raymond “Skip” Vahlkamp, D-6, Jack Holtschlag, D-7, and Richard Reis, D-7.
Sassen said he voted against both measures because he doesn’t feel this is a good time for the city to be buying new firetrucks, especially in light of the tight financial times that have prompted the city to impose budget cuts, an early retirement program and mandatory three-day furloughs for all employees.
“It’s bad timing,” Sassen said. “I just think it sends a bad message.”
Farha agreed. He said it doesn’t make sense to take out a loan to buy two new trucks in the hope that the city will be able to reduce its annual costs by $45,963 a year.
This would be accomplished by consolidating the number of firetrucks in daily service to five from seven, which would enable the department to reduce six lieutenant and three engineer positions in rank, thereby saving an estimated $45,963 annually for those positions, along with fuel savings.
Farha said this doesn’t make sense to him — “especially at a time when we could postpone this budget expense and accumulate the savings and pay for it in cash in four or five years, given the fact that we’re asking extreme measures from our employees. It sends the wrong message.”
Aldermen who supported the purchase of firetrucks say it’s important for the city to keep its fleet of emergency apparatus in good working condition and a couple of the vehicles to be replaced are about 30 years old.
— ehusar@whig.com/221-3378
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