By John Estridge
Buying a truck for a fire department using tax money is much different than going to Craig’s List and haggling with the seller for a used pickup truck or even going to a car lot and picking one out.
That is what some of the Liberty Volunteer Fire Department firefighters found out when they talked to Liberty Town Council members about purchasing a used tanker for the township fire department at the LTC meeting Monday night, February 1.
The township fire department desperately needs a different tanker. The current one was a honey dipper, and no one knows the actual condition of the tank, but most think it is just a matter of time before the firefighters come into the firehouse and find the tanker’s contents on the firehouse floor.
It is smaller than is needed; it is old and could break down at any time. And tankers are very important when there are fires out in the rural areas that are without hydrants and good water sources.
Most of the public does not understand the mandatory steps the state makes governmental entities go through before they can purchase anything above the $50,000 mark, which necessitates the bidding process.
The problem for the LVFD is the committee has found an excellent used tanker that meets all of the department’s needs. Tanker Committee head Marc Ross told the LTC members about the tanker.
It has a 3,000-gallon tank, is a tandem axle, is a diesel, has air brakes, the tank is stainless steel and it is automatic. That is compared to the present tanker, which is 1,200 gallons, uses gas and has hydraulic brakes.
According to Ross, some of the newer LVFD firefighters do not know how to drive a manual transmission vehicle.
“We have found a very good truck,” Ross said.
The problem is the price tag for the tanker is $74,900. While the committee members dutifully received three quotes, with two being other available tankers, that is not enough they learned because of the price tag involved.
Liberty Clerk/Treasurer Melissa Shepler told the firefighters they have to go out for bids when acquiring anything that costs more than $50,000.
“Anything over $50,000 has to be put out for bids,” Shepler said. “There is nothing I can do about that. You have to go out for bids. You have to write a bid sheet out and submit it to for a used truck. Anything over $50,000 has to go this route.”
Council member Ross Keasling, who is also a firefighter, and Shepler talked about the truck in the days before the meeting, Shepler said. After her talk with Keasling, she called the Indiana State Board of Accounts to verify the need for the bid process in the purchase of anything more than $50,000.
“I did ask the State Board of Accounts about (the tanker) that you had found in Maryland,” Shepler said. “They (State Board of Accounts representatives) said under no circumstances can you buy that truck. It has to go out for bids.”
She then enumerated the steps necessary to put an item up for bids. Shepler said they have to come up with a specifications sheet so the bidders are bidding on the same type of vehicle, advertise the specifications in the local paper, the bids come in sealed envelopes by a specific date and then the bids have to be opened in a public meeting.
According to Shepler, it will take at least 30 days for the process and sometimes it is longer than 30 days. It is more likely to take 30 to 60 days, she said. And if the funding or part of the funding comes from another fund, then that funding has to go through the additional appropriations process, which involves more legal advertising, a public hearing and then approval by the Division of Local Government Finance. This is another lengthy process, which could take 60 to 90 days.
The delay involved is a problem for the firefighters, because they said if they find a good deal, the sellers will not wait that amount of time, and the firefighters will not be able to purchase the truck they want.
LVFD Chief Jim Barnhizer asked if the department could put a down payment on the truck the department wants in order to hold it through the bidding process.
That is also not allowed, Shepler said, and town attorney Walt Chidester verbally agreed with Shepler.
“No, because you don’t have the truck yet,” Shepler said.
Having the money ready is not a problem, Shepler said. The Township Fire Fund currently has a balance of $176,882 at the end of 2020. If the fire department decides not to use all the money out of that fund for fear of depleting it too far – the amount currently being considered is about half the Township Fire Fund’s current amount — other funds within the town finances can contribute. Getting money from another fund would have to include an Interlocal Agreement, she said in answering a question from town council president Matt Barnhizer said.
Shepler said, as part of the Interlocal Agreement, the fire department would have to agree any maintenance or repairs on the tanker would come from the Township Fire Fund.
Town council member Keith Bias told the firefighters to keep in mind, if they find a tanker for $49,999, it does not have to be put out for bid, and they can immediately purchase it after getting three quotes. Quotes do not have to go through the bid process and can easily take place in a short amount of time.
