Atwater OKs One-Year Cost-Share With Merced County for Fire Mechanic to Reduce Repair Delays

The Atwater City Council unanimously approved a one-year cost-share agreement with Merced County to fund half of an additional mechanic position at the Castle county shop, with the citypaying its share based on actual costs up to $65,000.

Battalion Chief Bobby Iusso described long repair turnaround times and the expected benefits of the shared arrangement: "We're looking at an average of about 3 to 4 months turnaround for apparatus to come back to us," he said, adding that the city currently carries an estimated $124,000 in labor costs related to apparatus maintenance. "That averages us about $40,000 per piece of equipment... the mechanic is gonna cost 65,000 max."

Chief Iusso said the county shop already operates a fully equipped facility capable of servicing heavy fire apparatus and that the agreement includes a 30-day termination clause and an automatic midyear reassessment to ensure the arrangement is delivering cost savings and quicker turnaround. "If it doesn't work out for us... we can remove ourselves from it," he said.

Council members pressed for details on overtime, service priorities and whether Atwater apparatus would be deprioritized at the county shop. Chief Iusso said the additional mechanic would be designated to prioritize Atwater equipment when needed and that overtime would generally only be charged to the city if an apparatus in Atwater goes out of service after hours.

Public commenters asked whether Atwater would be deprioritized in favor of larger partners at the county shop; Chief Iusso and staff said accountability and oversight would be part of the arrangement and that city equipment would have priority when necessary.

The council approved the motion to enter the agreement after councilmember comments expressing comfort with the one-year trial and the 30-day termination provision. The motion passed unanimously.