The mayor and board of aldermen voted Tuesday to declare a list of city-owned vehicles and equipment surplus and authorize their sale at public auction, including two aging fire engines and an older rescue ambulance.

A resolution offered by Alderman Sandy Marks and seconded by Alderman Vernon Martin passed on a roll call vote. The resolution authorizes the mayor to contract with an auctioneer to sell surplus equipment and declares unsold items as junk subject to disposal.

Council discussion focused on several specific units listed as surplus: a 1990 Mack fire truck, a 1996 Spartan fire truck and a 1993 Ford F-350 rescue unit that city speakers said had become increasingly expensive to maintain. Aldermen and staff noted difficulties obtaining replacement parts for older apparatus and cited pump-test performance and insurance-rating considerations as factors in the decision to remove the vehicles from active service.

Council members also said the city had purchased two new fire engines about three years ago and has another service vehicle on order; council remarks identified those purchases as funded with ARPA and state funds rather than the general fund. Some aldermen asked whether it would be feasible to retrofit or remanufacture the old trucks; staff and aldermen said parts scarcity and failing pump tests limited their usefulness for firefighting operations.

The resolution directs the mayor to employ an auctioneer for a public sale and to proceed with disposal of any items that receive no bids. Roll-call voting recorded the following yes votes: Chuck Ashby, Katie Chasson, Brad Coore, Jeff Dorey, Dickey Loggley, Vernon Martin, Sandy Marks, Samuel Reggie and Byron Wilridge; the motion carried.

No sale price or auction date was specified in the resolution; aldermen directed staff to include the surplus list in next month’s department report and to coordinate auction logistics with the chosen auctioneer.