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Newington board asks town council to fund $2.66 million ladder truck via lease purchase
Summary
The Board of Fire Commissioners voted June 11 to send a resolution to the town council recommending that Ladder Truck One be funded with a lease-purchase agreement (estimated at about $2.66 million) rather than a referendum, citing long lead times and an apparatus replacement plan.
The Newington Board of Fire Commissioners voted on June 11 to send a resolution to the town council recommending funding for the replacement of Ladder Truck One through a lease-purchase arrangement, not a referendum.
Commissioners and the fire chief discussed financing and procurement timelines. The chief said the ladder truck replacement “does not fit the criteria of a referendum” because the proposed purchase is structured as a lease-purchase paid over five years. The group discussed an approximate price tag of $2.66 million for the apparatus.
Chief members emphasized long manufacturer build times and the department’s 20-year apparatus replacement schedule: the current ladder was purchased in 2006 and, with modern build times of about four years, the chief said the truck could be 24–25 years old by the time a replacement arrives. “NFPA recommends at 25 years that it gets out of frontline apparatus,” the chief said, underscoring the need to plan early.
The board motion to send the recommendation to the town council was seconded and approved by voice vote. The transcript does not record individual vote tallies.
Next steps: the town council will decide whether to fund the ladder via lease purchase or bond; the commission will forward its recommendation to council for that decision.
