Minot council presses staff for data after fleet plan lists $1.7M ladder truck as top priority

At a special June 15 meeting, Minot staff presented a fleet management plan that identified a new ladder truck, estimated at roughly $1.7 million, as the top general-fund replacement priority ahead of the 2027 budget cycle. Council members asked for more detailed data on usage, rebuild alternatives and the maintenance drivers behind the recommendation.

The presentation, led by Brian, said the city manages about 724 vehicles (including non-rolling stock) and that the fleet division maintains roughly 444 rolling-stock units. In 2025 the fleet team recorded 1,949 maintenance actions — about 47% preventive maintenance and 53% repairs — and logged roughly 11,063 technician hours. Staff's predictive MRU (maintenance repair unit) analysis estimates the fleet requires about 12,612 maintenance hours, producing a measured staffing gap when compared to current capacity.

"We have roughly about 724 vehicles. This broken down a little further, we really manage the rolling stock pieces pretty closely within our fleet division. Our team oversees roughly the maintenance on about 444 vehicles itself," Brian said during the presentation, explaining the MRU methodology and a resulting calculation of about 6.96 full-time equivalents needed versus current staffing levels.

Brian described a four-phase replacement process: an annual inventory, a fleet management working group that identifies candidates, an evaluation board of department heads (including the city manager and finance director) to score items, and then council consideration to include prioritized items in the city manager's proposed budget. The current general-fund replacement list totals about $2.4 million, he said, and the ladder truck was ranked highest.

Alderman Fuller pressed staff on the basis for prioritizing the ladder truck, asking for the unit's model year and how many calls it had responded to over its life and in the last year. Staff identified the unit as a 2016 E-One Typhoon ladder five truck. "Have we checked on rebuild cost versus buying a brand new one?" Fuller asked, requesting data about call volume and rebuild conversations with vendors.

Alderman Blessum expressed concern at the share of the general-fund list represented by the ladder truck and asked staff to justify putting a single purchase so high on the list. "We're talking about putting 70% of our general fund budget for vehicles into this one," Blessum said, requesting more evidence that age and maintenance costs — rather than low usage — warrant immediate replacement.

Brian responded that the ranking is driven by age and increasing maintenance costs and that staff had considered rebuild and used/refurbished options in some cases. He also pointed to examples where replacing two aging units with one newer, more capable machine (such as street sweepers or cemetery tractors) could reduce long-term maintenance burdens and produce operational efficiencies.

Alderman Samuelson urged staff to explore buying late-model used vehicles to save acquisition costs; staff replied that warranty and short-life maintenance concerns can sometimes offset the initial price advantage of used purchases but that the city will continue to analyze refurb, rotation and surplus-sale options.

City staff and the city manager stressed that none of the recommended replacements currently appear in the city manager's proposed budget but said items could be included in the July 16 proposed budget presentation depending on council direction. The council requested additional information from staff, including historical call data for the ladder truck, maintenance-cost breakdowns and a clearer demonstration of when replacement reduces lifetime maintenance costs.

No formal action was taken on the fleet list at the meeting; council directed staff to return with the requested clarifications before the budget submission process.