The City Council introduced Ordinance 18-25, a bond ordinance to acquire a 100-foot-or-greater quint ladder apparatus for the Long Branch Fire Department and to appropriate $2,000,000 toward the purchase. The council set a public hearing for Dec. 10, 2025 and recorded the roll-call vote to introduce the ordinance.

During public comment, resident Vincent Lepore asked that the ordinance be removed from the agenda and reintroduced at the next meeting because, he said, the header posted outside the council chambers and online did not match the text read at the meeting. Lepore raised multiple procurement questions: what type of aerial device the ordinance covers (aerial ladder versus tower bucket), whether the acquisition will be bedded or sourced from a single supplier, expected delivery dates, and whether additional outrigging costs will be covered by a separate bond. He also asked for the average age of other major fire apparatus in the city and questioned whether the city has purchased major equipment in the past decade.

Council did not take immediate action to remove the ordinance; the ordinance was introduced on first reading and will be the subject of a public hearing. The meeting record shows members of the public pressing for clearer procurement specifications, delivery timelines, and public notice before final action.