Lebanon officials press for grant clarity on fire truck; rescue squad asks for ambulance equipment upgrades

Town officials told the budget review committee they are pursuing external funding for a replacement fire truck while emergency-services personnel requested equipment upgrades for ambulances.

A committee member and staff said they applied for a grant for a new fire truck through a senator's office and had contacted a congressional office to check status; staff cautioned that because the grant is not yet confirmed the town should not assume the funds when finalizing the budget. "We applied...we got a notification in July that it was moving through," an official said, and added they were following up with congressional and senatorial staff to learn the grant's current standing.

The emergency-services representative explained planned ambulance upgrades: two auto-load stretcher systems (which are fixed in an ambulance and involve trading in existing equipment) and two Lucas mechanical CPR devices. The representative said the department has three ambulances (one in service at a time) and emphasized the safety benefit: auto-load systems reduce heavy lifting for crew members. He asked the committee to avoid cuts that would jeopardize responder or patient safety, and said that trade-in values and exact net cost are uncertain until the equipment is fitted and traded.

Committee members asked the department to revisit capital requests and to consider whether alternative configurations or grant opportunities could reduce a current $32,000 shortfall; no definitive funding decision was recorded at the meeting.