Berkeley staff told the council on April 29 that the city will begin seeding a new public‑improvement fund to smooth the purchase of large capital items and to start saving for a replacement fire engine.

Staff said the proposal is to set aside $250,000 per year in the public‑improvement fund across the next three fiscal years and to appropriate a $315,000 transfer from the current year as an initial down payment. Finance presenters described the transfer as a budget amendment on the next council agenda.

Public safety staff described the engine (referred to in the meeting as “Engine 4”) as a multi‑year procurement that has seen cost escalation; the figure shown in staff slides for the unit was $1,170,000. Staff explained typical manufacturer schedules: the chassis is manufactured and then the body is assembled, and lead times are commonly about 24 months from order to finished apparatus. Based on that timeline staff said the city would not owe its first payment until the chassis enters the assembly line, which staff estimated would occur roughly two years after order (staff noted a first invoice could arrive in mid‑2026 with final payments the next year under typical schedules).

Finance staff said the $315,000 initial appropriation and the planned annual set‑asides are intended to avoid large one‑year shocks to the general fund and create a dedicated capital pool; the fund would remain flexible, they said, and money could be re‑allocated by council if priorities changed. Staff emphasized the public improvement fund is not a legally restricted rainy‑day account but a management practice to accumulate capital reserves.

Councilors asked about payment schedule mechanics, whether state or federal grants could offset costs, and whether earlier ordering would lock in prices. Staff replied that ordering earlier locks in current pricing but still requires large up‑front commitments when the chassis enters production. They also said grant opportunities could reduce net cost and that the fund would give the city options to match grants or provide required local shares.

Ending: Council members directed staff to place the $315,000 budget amendment on the next council agenda and to return with a procurement/ordering timeline and options for financing the remainder of the apparatus cost.