Copyright 2006 The Times-Picayune Publishing Company
By ALLEN POWELL II
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
In an effort to replace outdated fire trucks without having to save for years to purchase the expensive new equipment, the Westwego Volunteer Fire Department wants city officials to approve a new lease-purchase program for its fire equipment.
Westwego Fire Chief Doyle Guidroz and a representative from Sunbelt Fire Inc. discussed the new lease proposal at the City Council’s April 10 meeting. No decision was made on the proposal, but Westwego Mayor Robert Billiot said the plan will be taken under advisement.
The lease program, which is gaining traction in several small fire departments across the country, would allow the city to lease ladder trucks, water pumper trucks and other fire equipment from Sunbelt Fire on a two- to 10-year payment plan, Guidroz said. With a fixed interest rate, the city would pay a monthly or annual fee, , which would vary depending on the total length of the lease and the price of the equipment, he said.
Unlike other lease programs, the city would purchase the fire equipment with is annual payments, while retaining the ability to cancel its lease at anytime if the city’s revenues decrease greatly, Guidroz said. Typically, ladder trucks can cost more than $550,000, while a pumper truck can cost between $285,000 and $325,000, he said. The vehicles usually have a 20-year life cycle.
Tommy Champagne, a sales representative for Sunbelt, said the low-interest lease program gives small fire companies access to updated fire equipment without having to save for years to make a lump-sum payment or accrue permanent long-term debt through a typical loan. The company offers the program only to public entities.
“It’s not really advantageous to try to save to pay for the truck,” Champagne told the council. He said that because the price of trucks typically increases by 3 percent annually, cities can sometimes pay more money if they save for years than if they lease immediately.
Guidroz said he became interested in the lease program when the fire department bought a $550,000 ladder truck three years ago. Due to the high cost of the truck, Guidroz had to wait several years for the city to save enough money for the purchase because of Westwego officials’ long-standing opposition to accruing debt, he said.
At the time, all of Westwego’s fire trucks were more than 20 years old.
With the lease program, Guidroz said he would be able to replace outdated equipment immediately for a moderate fee that could be included annually in his department’s budget. It would allow the fire department to meet its equipment needs without having to consider what other projects the city is focusing on, he said. More importantly, outdated trucks could be rotated to reserve roles more quickly, or even sold.
“As I have been chief, we’ve struggled to get our trucks replaced,” Guidroz said. “You always had to see what else the city had going on.”