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Washington council approves order for two fire pumpers, staff outlines lease option to lock price
Summary
The Washington City Council on Oct. 20 approved accepting a proposal from McQueen Emergency Group to buy two Pierce fire pumpers and discussed a lease-purchase option intended to capture a vendor prepayment discount and mitigate long lead times and rising prices.
The Washington City Council on Monday approved an ordinance accepting a proposal from McQueen Equipment LLC, d/b/a McQueen Emergency Group, to purchase two Pierce fire pumpers and discussed a lease-purchase financing plan intended to lock in current pricing and secure production slots.
City presenters told council members the department's frontline trucks are aging, manufacturer lead times for custom pumpers have stretched to about 30–36 months, and parts shortages have left some apparatus sidelined for months. “When you start looking at cost these trucks over a million dollars a piece, we're getting into $1,718,000 dollars on a quarter percent,” a staff member said, citing recent vendor pricing and upcoming vendor increases. The council heard that a lease-purchase with PNC Bank — the lender used by the manufacturer — would pay the trucks up front and yield an estimated prepayment discount of roughly $188,000–$200,000 compared with buying later.
Why it matters: council and staff framed the purchase as a response to growing maintenance costs and out-of-service time on older apparatus. Presenters said several frontline trucks have passed 15 years of service, with some aged 27–28 years still being used. The fiscal plan discussed would use capital sales tax proceeds where available but rely on lease financing to secure the purchase now while the city finalizes funding.
Details presented to the council include: lead times of up to three years for delivery, a history of rising prices for custom apparatus, the option of a lease-purchase where the first two years would be interest-only, and an eventual 10-year payment schedule beginning around expected delivery. Staff said the city previously used similar lease-purchase arrangements for two recent trucks. “The first 2 years are interest only,” the same staff member said, describing the structure used previously.
Council members pressed staff on contingencies if a voter-approved capital tax does not pass. Staff said the city would have options including selling the ordered apparatus before final construction if the funding picture later deteriorated. “If you're getting to that 24 month mark and it's not looking very positive, there could be changes made to make that truck even more marketable,” staff said, adding the city could resell the apparatus and recover value.
The ordinance authorizing acceptance of McQueen's proposal passed on second reading; recorded roll-call names indicated unanimous support by members responding "yes". Staff estimated the trucks would not be delivered until late 2028 or into 2029 because of production and upfitting time.
Council and staff also discussed practical fleet issues: extended downtime for custom parts (radiators, pumps, ABS systems), a truck currently out at least six weeks waiting on parts after a crash, and the strategic need to order now to avoid higher future prices. Staff said a previously budgeted amount of $1,100,000 exists for a truck but that current market prices and prepayment discounts change the funding calculus.
The motion: the council approved an ordinance to accept the McQueen proposal for two Pierce pumpers, with staff directed to pursue a lease-purchase if favorable terms could be secured. The council recorded a unanimous affirmative vote on final passage.
