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Finance committee recommends pre-ordering fire chassis amid EMS funding review
Summary
The committee voted unanimously to recommend Council allow pre-order of a fire chassis (~$128,000) to secure a production slot; staff also reviewed EMS revenue, fire equipment fund balances, and hiring to reduce overtime.
Richfield’s Finance Committee on March 3 voted to recommend that Village Council authorize Finance Director Sandy Turk to pre-order a fire chassis for roughly $128,000 to secure a production slot, citing multi-year lead times for complete ambulance builds.
Sue Ann Philippbar made the motion to recommend the pre-order and Jim Smith seconded; the committee passed the recommendation unanimously. The motion was presented after Fire Chief Seifert explained that manufacturers require upfront chassis payments to lock production slots and that complete builds are taking much longer.
Finance Director Sandy Turk reviewed EMS revenue and the fire equipment fund. Turk said the fire equipment fund closed the prior year with $324,770; without an income tax transfer in 2026 and with $82,000 of equipment requested, the projected year-end balance was $242,000 before the $128,000 chassis appropriation. Turk said council appropriation will be required for the village to spend the $128,000 from the fire equipment fund.
The committee discussed aligning EMS billing practices and township payments with equipment funding and considered committing an annual transfer (for example, $50,000–$75,000) to the fire equipment fund to stabilize future large purchases.
Chief Seifert and Turk also reviewed overtime and staffing: YTD overtime through the fifth payroll was about $43,000 versus $36,000 last year, with retirement payouts contributing to overages. The committee directed staff to post two positions mid-March, with a goal to hire two new members by early to mid-May to reduce overtime before summer demand.
Why it matters: long lead times for emergency vehicle production and constrained equipment balances make an upfront chassis payment a risk-management step to ensure service continuity; the committee’s recommendation preserves options but requires Council appropriation.
Next steps: Committee will forward the recommendation to full Council for appropriation authority; staff will continue recruitment and report back on EMS-billing alignment and potential annual equipment-fund transfers.
