Aldermen question truck purchases

By Jennifer Eisenbart

Editor

Just how many trucks does the City of Burlington Department of Public Works need?

The proposed purchase of four new trucks that will be voted on in April raised that question Tuesday night at the Committee of the Whole meeting for the Common Council, as well as the status of the city’s capital replacement fund.

The DPW is proposing to replace four trucks – two one-ton trucks for general use, a three-quarter ton truck with a plow, salter and utility strobe lights for the wastewater division and another one-ton truck for the water division with various modifications.

The first two one-ton trucks total about $65,000, the three-quarter ton truck with modifications about $41,200 and the last one-ton truck about $63,252 once a service body, hydraulics, plow, a lift gate and utility strobe lights are added.

Alderman Tom Vos started the discussion by asking if the department had ever determined how many trucks it truly needed, adding that he had asked city staff before.

“I don’t know if we’ve ever gotten an answer to that,” he said.

There has been debate on new vehicle purchases in the past year at council, with a planned purchase of a new sport-utility vehicle for the city building inspector changed to a used one last fall.

This time, it wasn’t the specific purchase questioned as much as the council wanting to know what the DPW needs – and also the status of the capital replacement fund.

“I don’t feel we have a handle on the equipment replacement fund,” said Alderman Jon Schultz, adding that he would like to not only see the impact each purchase made on that fund, but also the layout of purchases for the coming years.

Replacements are discussed and planned for during the budget process, but Schultz said he wanted more a running list to plan for the future.

Director of Public Works Craig Workman and Mayor Bob Miller both explained there is a spreadsheet at City Hall that tracks the purchase for about 15 years out. Alderman Tom Preusker said that he wanted to see that document as well.

Workman also clarified the number of trucks the DPW has and what is being replaced. Currently, there are 12 trucks to 18 employees. The trucks being replaced are as old as 1991 and as new as 1998.

In particular, the first two trucks have been deemed “unreliable” and are also upgrades to one-ton trucks from three-quarter ton trucks. Workman added the trucks being replaced are on a planned rotation within the equipment replacement fund plan.

“I just want to make sure we’re not over-endowed,” Vos said.