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Finance committee reviews fire department capital requests; council seeks confirmation on big-ticket purchases
Summary
Committee questioned timing, encumbrance status and scope of fire department requests including a lease line for a fire truck, an $80,000 commander vehicle, a $216,003.97 ambulance re‑chassis request and station renovations; staff will confirm whether late‑year contracts completed purchases originally removed from the 2024 budget.
The Finance Committee examined the Cleveland Heights Fire Department’s capital requests, asking the chief and finance staff to confirm which items were still outstanding and which had been finalized at the 2024 year-end close.
The department’s list includes a lease/payment line of $408,007.91 tied to a vehicle payment schedule, $80,000 for an incident commander/utility vehicle, $216,003.97 for an ambulance re‑chassis that had been approved in 2022 but not encumbered in 2024, and a fire engine previously budgeted at about $1,080,000. Councilors asked whether those items were purchased late in the 2024 closeout or remain active requests for 2025.
Chief Harry told the committee operations staff had resolved many of last year’s supply and manufacturing delays and that several late‑year contract matters were “taken care of.” He said some vehicles remain on long-term payment schedules and that replacement plans often reassign retired apparatus (for example, making a replaced incident commander vehicle the utility/plow truck). Chief Harry also confirmed the department is tracking station needs such as kitchen updates and locker-room improvements; some projects were moved between years for administrative reasons.
Councilor Jim Posch expressed particular interest in confirming whether the large fire engine request was already purchased before the 2024 closeout. “If it was purchased, wouldn’t we have seen a piece of legislation for that?” a councilor asked during the meeting; councilors instructed staff to check the ledger and provide a status update. Finance staff said they would double-check procurement records and return with a definitive report for committee and council.
The committee also discussed an aging generator at a fire station; the generator worked but is old and parts are no longer available, the chief said. Council members asked the properties department and administration to assess whether the generator replacement should be coordinated with broader efficiency work led by the city’s facilities contractor, Leopardo.
Ending: No formal votes were taken. Staff will return to the committee with documentation on whether the ambulance re‑chassis and the fire engine purchases were finalized at 2024 year end and with an estimated timeline and cost for locker-room and kitchen improvements.
