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York council hears fire chief's report, approves ambulance quote for future budget year
Summary
Chief Tony Bestway told the City Council that 2024 included multiple fatal incidents and increased call volume; the council voted unanimously to accept a vendor quote for an ambulance that would be charged to the 2027'28 budget year.
York City Council on April 17 heard the annual report from Fire Chief Tony Bestway and unanimously approved moving forward with a vendor quote to provide a new ambulance in the 2027'28 budget year.
Chief Bestway said 2024 was marked by a string of serious incidents: "we had five accidents with seven fatalities within two months," he told the council, and added that the department ran 1,653 calls last year. He reported more than 4,100 hours of training in 2024, which included paramedic and EMT students, and said the department's reported fire losses were about $419,000.
Why it matters: Council members said the ambulance purchase is a capital decision tied to both public-safety needs and vehicle-price volatility. Chief Bestway told the council the quoted price is time-limited: signing by May 1 would avoid a 3% increase, and payment would not be due until Oct. 1, 2027, providing three budget years to allocate funds.
Council discussion focused on retention and staffing as well as station design. Bestway described a proposed permanent lieutenant position to improve succession and morale rather than relying on short-term acting-captain assignments. He also presented a virtual tour of the proposed new fire station layout, noting features designed for future expansion: larger apparatus bays, a training/tower structure with sprinkler and stand-pipe capability, a hardened watch room for radio dispatch, and storm-shelter protection.
On the ambulance quote, the council moved to "consider approval of a quote with North Central Emergency Vehicles for an ambulance in the amount" cited in the meeting materials; the transcript lists the figure as "459,97" (format unclear). After questions about bidding practices and financing, the motion to approve the quote passed by unanimous roll-call vote.
The council approved the procurement motion without recorded dissent. Chief Bestway and council members said staff will return with more detailed budget planning and options for financing or pay-over-time arrangements.
What comes next: Staff will work the procurement and budgeting steps described by the chief; the council did not set a financing plan at the meeting and left payment timing and funding sources to be developed in future budget discussions.
