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Muskego council approves purchase of pumper tanker after debate over price, engine and long delivery timeline
Summary
The Muskego Common Council on May 13 approved purchase of a Velocity pumper tanker for the fire department after discussion about engine choice, warranty, delivery schedule and whether the vehicle matched the budgeted specifications. The final vote was 6-1.
The Muskego Common Council voted 6-1 on May 13 to approve Resolution 03-4-2025, authorizing purchase of a Velocity pumper tanker for the city fire department.
Council members debated the truck’s specifications, engine choice, warranty terms, delivery schedule and whether the vendor’s final quote matched the vehicle budgeted by the city. The discussion included requests to review the purchase agreement before voting and an earlier motion to defer the item until that document could be presented.
The matter first came before the council as part of the consent/regular agenda, but aldermen postponed a vote while a copy of the purchase agreement was retrieved. Alderman Paul moved to defer consideration; Alderman Bob seconded the deferral. The council later resumed consideration when the agreement was distributed.
Members pressed staff and the fire chief on technical and contract details. Councilors were told the manufacturer’s delivery window is approximately 49.5 to 52.5 months from order and that the build time itself is about six months but manufacturers currently have multi-year order backlogs. The agreement specifies a one-year bumper-to-bumper warranty; staff said engine coverage typically runs about two to three years. The engine that remains specified for the vehicle was described in the meeting as a PACCAR (Peterbilt/Kenworth) engine rather than a Cummins; the Cummins option was noted as roughly a $200,000 upgrade.
Council members also discussed price and specification changes. Staff reported negotiating the vendor’s price “down” after changes to the vehicle specification; one speaker described getting a price reduction from $1.4 million to $1.147 million, and another cited figures of $1,000,400 and $1,000,000 in internal communications. Councilors said some options originally considered were removed to reach a price closer to the amount the council had placed in the capital budget. One alderman said this raised concerns that the city might pay for a vehicle that differs from what the council believed it had approved.
The council held a roll-call vote on the resolution. The recorded votes were: Alderman Wolf — yes; Alderman Hamill — yes; Alderman Decker — yes; Alderman Bryce — yes; Alderman Schrader — no; Alderman Dulge — yes; Alderman Madden — yes. The tally was 6 yes, 1 no; the resolution passed.
The council did not adopt any additional conditions on the purchase at the time of approval. Staff and council members indicated they would circulate follow-up information by email — including specification and pricing details — after the meeting.
