Vacaville council adopts midyear budget adjustments and approves rapid steps to address fire fleet shortfalls

Vacaville City Council on Feb. 20 approved midyear budget augmentations and accepted recommendations from a city fire‑fleet study aimed at shortening delivery times and reducing costs for emergency apparatus.

Budget staff reported mixed revenue trends through midyear: property taxes were higher than originally budgeted by about $1.7 million, while sales tax and Measure M receipts were both about $1 million below the June estimates. The city’s overall midyear revenue revision was a modest $424,000 below adopted projections, staff said, and sales tax weakness was attributed to broader statewide trends.

Council approved a package of midyear budget adjustments totaling $1,188,130 to be covered by the general fund. Key elements of the augmentation included $143,000 to cover excess jail booking fees, $75,000 of ongoing funding for a public‑safety wellness program, about $91,000 to close out unreimbursed FEMA pandemic costs, and approximately $897,000 related to Lagoon Valley fire staffing and operational timing. Staff said Lagoon Valley’s new Station 76 is staffed and operational but that a contractual CFD revenue payment tied to a trigger of 200 permits has not yet occurred; the city therefore must cover staffing costs until the CFD revenue begins to flow.

The council also heard a fire‑fleet study and recommendations presented by public works and fire staff. The study identified eight major apparatus for replacement or procurement (four ambulances, two Type 1 engines and two Type 5 engines) plus nine support vehicles, and examined stop‑gap and financing options. Recommendations accepted by staff and presented to council included:

• Pursue a used Type‑1 fire engine as a stop‑gap (staff recommended a maximum purchase price not to exceed $500,000) to restore peak operational capacity while new units are on long manufacturer lead times.

• Rebox two ambulances (replace the cabin chassis and refurbish the patient care box) at approximately $300,000 each, a quicker alternative to ordering new ambulances that were estimated at about $400,000 and carry two‑to‑three‑year lead times.

• Use Pierce Manufacturing’s “Build My Pierce” standardized option for the next two Type‑1 engines to shorten delivery from roughly 48 months to 36 months and reduce unit cost (staff cited an estimated savings of about $264,000 per engine under the program compared with the city’s custom spec).

Staff said reboxing ambulances could reduce unit cost and shorten delivery to about 90 days. Council and staff discussed operational tradeoffs; the fire chief and operations staff explained some options for equipment spec changes (for example, certain auxiliary pumps or options might not be included in the expedited builds) and said the department expected to return to regular specification once the delivery backlog eases.

Staff reported they had been negotiating financing for the larger fleet replacement package and expected to return to the council with a master lease agreement for approval in a near‑term meeting; meanwhile council authorized the city manager to execute a contract to purchase a used Type‑1 engine as a near‑term measure.

Council approved the midyear budget adjustments and the staff direction on fleet procurement by voice vote; staff said financing details and final procurement contracts will be returned to council for formal approval as required.