The township fire service is purchasing a used service vehicle for periodic use by staff and for transporting an all terrain vehicle and trailer in emergencies and other department business.
Council, at its Jan. 13 meeting, approved the purchase, which is not to exceed $16,000 the service got from the sale of two retired tanker trucks.
Fire Chief Jeff Dahms said he had located a 2005 Chevy Tahoe 4×4 with about 159,000 kilometers on it that could fit the bill. He reported the vehicle, a former emergency vehicle, would cost about $12,800 plus tax to purchase and comes already outfitted with lights.
Dahms said the vehicle would have to be outfitted with the fire service logo.
The vehicle would be used by the chief for trips between the Arthur and Mount Forest stations and other department business.
“Currently in the Wellington North Fire Service there is a mileage system in place that upon approval a member of the fire service could drive their vehicle to training or inspections or a meeting pertaining to fire department business and be reimbursed for mileage incurred,” Dahms said in a report to council.
“A service vehicle will not completely eliminate the mileage cost from the fire budget, however there could be savings from my day-to-day mileage claims of about $6,000 per year, including other functions that other members in the fire stations could use also.”
The purchase approval means $47,000 for a new vehicle would be removed from the 2014 budget.
The marked vehicle will also be used by the chief to respond to emergencies and mean he would not be using his personal unmarked vehicle.
