Board approves $18.3 million financing for fire apparatus
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Summary
The board approved JP Morgan financing through the Indiana Bond Bank to buy 18 frontline fire apparatus for about $18.3 million over eight years at an approximate 3.59% rate; plan replaces 17 aging units and adds one tanker for a new station.
The board approved financing to replace and add fire apparatus across Indianapolis.
Deputy Chief Michael Tiernan told the board the department negotiated financing through the Indiana Bond Bank with JP Morgan at an accepted rate of about 3.59% over eight years for $18.3 million. The package covers 18 apparatus: five engines, five ladders, five squads, one tanker, one technical support unit (TSU) and one tactical vehicle. Tiernan said the oldest frontline apparatus in the fleet approach 20 years of service.
Board members asked whether the 18 vehicles were replacements or additions; Tiernan said 17 are replacements and one is an addition for a new Station 32 (a tanker to support areas with fewer hydrants). One board member noted prior vehicle purchases and asked for unit-cost context; Tiernan explained squads are smaller, pickup-style support units and that engines and ladders are the costliest items.
A motion to adopt the financing and apparatus purchase was moved and seconded and the board approved the request; the transcript records the vote as passed without a roll-call tally.
