Liberty looking to options in attempting to purchase tanker truck for fire department

By John Estridge

Liberty attorney Jim Williams is going to look into different ways to allow the Liberty Volunteer Fire Department to purchase a used tanker truck.

Williams was at his first Liberty Town Council meeting after taking over for retired attorney Walt Chidester. Williams is a Union County native, former Union Circuit Court Judge and now a partner in the law firm DeFur Voran of Indianapolis and Muncie. He is also the county attorney.

LVFD members have been thwarted in their efforts to purchase a used tanker truck. The current tanker is a former honey dipper. No one has witnessed the current condition of the tanker, but firefighters said when they drain the tanker, the water is full of rust. It is feared by the firefighters they will come into the firehouse at some point and find the firehouse awash in the water that poured through the tanker’s bottom.

LVFD is also the Township Fire Department. It operates for five of the county’s six townships. Thus, tankers are imperative to fighting fires in the rural areas. In those rural areas, there is not access to large sustainable water supplies like in incorporated towns that have their own public water system. When there is a rural fire, tankers from the fire department in the nearby community as well as other tankers from other fire departments in the area shuttle back and forth from the fire to a good water source.

Purchasing a new tanker is impossible for the small fire department. It was reported at the last LTC meeting, a new tanker would be in excess of $600,000. The fire department is looking for a used tanker in the $100,000 range.

The problem is any governmental entity purchase over a certain amount must follow Indiana Code. That involves publishing specifications and the desire for quotes, waiting through the process to receive the quotes, opening the bids, awarding the bids and then going through the process of deciding which funds to tap to pay for the tanker and then going through the additional appropriation process to make those funds available for use.

With the additional appropriation process, there is more advertising for a public hearing and then holding the public hearing. After approval by the local government entity, there is also a need for approval by the Department of Local Government Finance.

Earlier this year, the fire department went through the quote process and received three quotes. However, the fire officials found all three trucks had been sold even before they opened the quotes.

Now, they believe they have found a used tanker in Ohio for about $100,000. However, the fire department may have to go through the whole process again, and the fire department in Ohio may not wait through that lengthy process and sell the tanker to another department.

Williams said there may be a way to circumvent some of the process by declaring the situation an emergency. He said he would look into the Indiana Code and see if the current situation would fit any of the special circumstances for the emergency clause within the code.

Then, there is funding. Firefighters have decided $20,000 would come from the Township Fire Fund. That leaves $80,000. Council had been leaning toward using the Local Option Income Tax (LOIT) Fund. LOIT is designed specifically to cover public safety costs. However, it has been found the town may not be able to use that fund because it is derived from income tax from Liberty residents. This fire truck will not fight fires in Liberty, but the fires in the county areas.

Thus, it was suggested to use the Riverboat Fund. Lawrenceburg gives each county in the area a certain amount of money annually from its Riverboat taxes. The amount was greater in the past but with the advent of gaming in Ohio, revenue at the Lawrenceburg boat was drastically cut. Now, Liberty receives about $12,000 per year in gaming money. Lawrenceburg retains the bulk of the tax funds it receives from the boat.

Council discovered it has enough in that fund to cover the remaining cost. Council then voted unanimously to use that fund.