Steuben County Council approves funds for emergency vehicle preemption equipment

Steuben County Council on Oct. 11 approved an additional appropriation to fund installation of emergency vehicle preemption equipment in county vehicles. The project, presented by Bill Boyer, City of Angola engineer, covers work on 26 county vehicles and includes five county EMS ambulances. The council approved the appropriation by voice vote with seven ayes.

Boyer told the council the county’s share was first estimated in December 2013 at $6,110 but later bids showed higher installation costs. Minutes record multiple figures discussed during the presentation—Boyer described a requested adjusted county amount and told council staff that installation cost per vehicle was about $305. The minutes also state the motion recorded an appropriation of $9,455 from the Public Safety LOIT Fund.

Boyer said the county could elect a no‑cost option to train county staff to install equipment (the manufacturer’s contract allows training on up to three vehicles), or have the contractor install the units. Dave Gross said the City of Angola chose not to install toggle switches so the system will activate only under lights and sirens. The minutes note that wire harnesses for changeover cost roughly $75 and that installing harnesses into a new vehicle would add about $300 in labor.

Installation was scheduled for late November or early December at the Angola Fire Department. Linda Hansen moved to approve the appropriation; Ruth Beer seconded and the motion carried with seven ayes.

The minutes record that the sheriff indicated concern about the expense and said he would not support the project if money was an issue; the council nonetheless approved the appropriation. The council did not record any amendments to the installation plan or a separate vote on whether to use county staff training instead of contractor installation.