Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Fire Fleet topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee narrows budget cut after dispute over Sprinter ambulance costs; department to phase replacements
Summary
SFFD and BLA disagreed on Sprinter ambulance unit cost and on how many vehicles to buy; after a lengthy discussion the committee reduced the proposed budget cut to preserve more purchase authority and asked the department and BLA to reconcile final costs.
San Francisco Fire Department representatives told the Budget & Finance Committee that the department operates 58 frontline ambulances, 23 of which are over 10 years old and require frequent, costly repairs. Fire leadership piloted smaller Sprinter‑style ambulances as a Vision Zero‑compatible, more maneuverable replacement and sought funding to accelerate replacements.
The BLA questioned the department—ost assumptions: the analysts had used an $85,000 per Sprinter figure in initial materials, while the department said the actual per‑unit out‑the‑door cost is about $110,000–$115,000, which materially changes how many vehicles a given appropriation will buy. BLA proposed more conservative funding and recommended reserving part of the mayor—udget pending pilot results.
Supervisors negotiated an alternative cut: instead of the originally proposed two $700,000 reductions (a $1.4M total), the committee reduced the FY19 cut to $585,000 and the FY20 cut to $240,000, enabling additional near‑term purchases while keeping a budget review requirement before further purchases. The committee asked Fire, BLA and the budget office to reconcile per‑unit costs and return with a revised procurement timeline and final figures.
Why it matters: ambulance fleet condition affects emergency medical services and response reliability. The committee preserved more purchase authority than the initial BLA recommendation while requiring clearer cost documentation.
