Emergency Services Make Their Case for Capital Requests

Emergency services participated in a budget workshop meeting with the township committee, accounting for hundreds of thousands of dollars in requests.

“All department heads have come before the committee with budget requests,” Mayor Mark Dykoff said. “They do this because they want to better serve the township. It’s not about wanting new things and wanting unnecessary things.”

Many of the operating budgets remain approximately the same from the previous year, along with the township’s $11,000 donation to each fire department and $35,000 to the EMS squads.

Several EMS squads requested an increase in the donation. Lanoka Harbor EMS asked the committee to consider covering utilities while Lacey EMS requested an increase to cover the re-chassis of two ambulances.

Two-thirds of Lacey EMS’s fleet is in need of replacement going on 10 years, President John Hode said.

By supporting the rechassis of two ambulances, it would supplement the financing of refurbishing the ambulances and ultimately save the township more than $300,000 in vehicle costs, Hode said.

Ford is discontinuing their manufacturing of ambulance chassis so the type of chassis needed for the two ambulances will no longer be available after next year forcing the squad to purchase new ambulances, he said.

Loan and lease options exist for the re-chassis of the ambulances, he said. The monthly cost is approximately $1,000 after a down payment of $25,000 with a term of five years.

The squad proposes the re-chassis of one ambulance in 2012 and another in 2013 and requested that the township donation of $35,000 be increased by $12,000 for 2012 for a total of $42,000 and another $12,000 in 2013, increasing to $54,000. Lacey EMS asked for the donation to be maintained at $54,000 through 2016, decreased to $42,000 in 2017 and return to $35,000 in 2018.

This increase in donation would be a “long-term plan” for the township, costing the township $120,000 over six years, and would give the squad “the security to enter into a financial situation,” Hode said.

“These are much more important (than $10,000 in radios that the squad requested,” Hode said. “This is the job that we do.”

Each of the other emergency departments presented their requests. Some applied for grants and were denied while others are still waiting to hear back.

“We’ll do what we can,” Dykoff said. “We’re going to take this under advisement.”

Below are the capital requests for each emergency department:

Lanoka Harbor EMS:
Power stretcher to reduce the risk of injuries- $13,000
Pilot project with a rescue vehicle monitoring system for driver improvement and maintenance of vehicles- $21,800 for all vehicles including a year of maintenance.

Lanoka Harbor Fire Company:
Pumper Rescue to replace their 1978 vehicle- $450,000
Extrication tools- $40,000

Bamber Lake Fire Company:
4-Wheel drive chief’s vehicle- $35,000
Six turnout gears to replace expiring gear- $18,000
Scott bottles and complete kits- $10,000
Hoses- $4,200 to $3,000
Extrication equipment- $26,000

Forked River Fire Company:
New Chief’s Vehicle to replace a 14-year-old vehicle- $42,000
Tanker Pumper to replace two trucks, one that is 44 years old and another that is 26 years old- $625,000
Four Scott Airpacks
45 Pagers- $23,000
Thermal Imaging Cameras- $18,500
Five Sets of Turnout Gear- $20,000
Hoses- $1,510.

Lacey EMS:
Radios- $10,000