Newton County Board of Supervisors will hold a work session Tuesday to develop a policy for maintenance of county-owned fire trucks.
Previously, individual fire departments have been responsible for repairs and maintenance of their stations’ trucks, however a recent dilemma with the Decatur Volunteer Fire Department’s county truck has put that policy into question.
In a meeting Thursday, E911 director Brian Taylor brought two quotes for rewiring DVFD’s fire truck before the board totaling $16,567 and $20,986.
Taylor said the quotes are for a direct wiring of the truck, cutting out the failed computer and hopefully decreasing the truck’s dependence on technology, which, while helpful, causes a lot of problems when it fails.
“You’re doing a direct wire, so you’re taking the computer out of the mix,” he said. “From this point forward it will be, let’s just say a light, back to a switch, back to the battery.”
Currently, DVFD is using one of Duffee Fire Department’s county trucks, which satisfies the requirements of the department’s fire insurance rating. However, the board has some reservations about repairing the truck without having a clear understanding of how it will affect future repairs on county-owned fire trucks.
Supervisor Joe Alexander, who has been in close contact with Decatur mayor David Marshall about the fire truck issues, said the two had discussed those concerns in a recent conversation.
“Whatever we do for one, we’ll have to do for all,” he said.
Alexander, and the other supervisors, have previously stated they are willing to help Decatur bear the cost of repairs. The concern is by helping one department, the board is taking on the cost of repairs for all fire departments, which has not been factored into the county budget.
By changing policy to where the county covers repair costs, the board could be taking on a large expense. The supervisors expressed their concerns with making such a policy shift without a funding plan in place.
“I’m not ready to raise my hand for or against until we compile enough data to know what we’re voting on,” Alexander said.
The board voted to hold a work session Tuesday at 9 a.m. to discuss how to approach repairs to county-owned fire trucks and where the money will come from.
The bids for rewiring Decatur Volunteer Fire Department’s truck were tabled. For now, the department will continue using Duffee Fire Department’s truck on county fire calls.
