Christmas was celebrated almost a month ago, but Mount Airy officials are making what some consider belated purchases — including a new fire engine and automated garbage trucks — after weeks of debate.
“I am excited beyond words,” Commissioner Tom Koch said during a city council meeting Thursday night, when its members took a Santa-size step along those lines. They agreed unanimously to move forward on vehicle/equipment acquisitions with a total price tag of $1.6 million, with Commissioner Jon Cawley absent.
Another vote is required for approving an official project ordinance authorizing the purchases, due to extra time being needed to obtain cost confirmations for the new items and prepare related paperwork. That action could come in just a few days when a recessed meeting is planned.
Koch had been lobbying heavily for the new fire truck he believes is much-needed and two sanitation trucks to allow the city to convert to automated garbage collection from the present system requiring hands-on involvement by human crews.
One motivation for Koch was the time lag in actually getting those vehicles online once ordered, about a year in the case of the fire engine — to replace one that’s 20 years old — and around nine months for the sanitation vehicles.
While safety was a factor in both cases, Koch also has viewed the acquisition of the garbage vehicles as a cost-saving measure that there was no reason to delay. The first-term member of the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners says the municipality will save about $155,000 annually in pay and benefit expenses for human collectors, offsetting the up-front cost of the vehicles.
Those workers won’t really be losing their jobs, with the cuts to be realized through attrition and moving them to other public works positions that are vacant, based on past discussions.
Other commissioners did not seem as motivated as Koch during the debate over recent months. While recognizing the need for the fire truck in particular, they questioned how the vehicles would be funded, either through tapping into Mount Airy’s fund balance — aka its surplus or savings — or through a loan.
This financial concern also has extended to other major capital needs (related to vehicles, equipment and buildings) identified over the next five years totaling about $11.6 million.
Project ordinance favored
Thursday night’s unanimous vote came after City Manager Barbara Jones advised board members of a new method identified to allow the fire/garbage vehicles — as the most-pressing capital needs — to be ordered now without actually specifying a payment source.
This can be accomplished not by committing money from the fund balance, which stood at slightly more than $11 million at last report, but establishing the project ordinance, Jones explained. It is a budgetary procedure to basically formalize the vehicle purchases and speed up the process without a funding source picked.
“That project ordinance would not tie up the fund balance, as originally thought,” the city manager said of an earlier plan to possibly use money from it to support a budget amendment for the expense involved.
However, she cautioned the commissioners that this alternative still would obligate the city financially for the acquisitions.
“So you do have to understand that that is part of the budget — it is money you are obligated to pay,” Jones said of approving the project ordinance.
“It is purchased at that point and it must be paid for,” she added regarding the vehicle additions.
Jones said the project ordinance alternative was identified through recent discussions involving her; Mount Airy’s finance director, Pam Stone; and Doug Carter, a Charlotte consultant assisting the municipality with its long-range capital needs plan.
Carter gave a presentation Thursday night which included various ways to fund the package.
Some of these same methods were suggested in exploring how the $1.6 million in vehicles eventually will be paid for, including borrowing, using money from the fund balance or raising property taxes, among others suggested during Thursday night’s meeting.
Leaf machine, dump truck
More items will be part of the project ordinance along with the fire engine and garbage truck, at the urging of the city manager.
With avoiding accidents among human sanitation personnel being a key consideration for the move toward automation, Jones requested that this further be attained through the buying of a new leaf-collection machine and an accompanying dump truck.
That would promote safety compared to a device now used, which would “get our guys off that piece of equipment where they’re just hanging out there getting the leaves up,” the city manager said. The board agreed to those additions.
The cost breakdown includes $561,750 for the fire engine; $760,000 for the garbage trucks; $160,000 for the dump truck, which would be available for other uses; and $120,000 for the leaf machine.
Not making the cut were new brush carts eyed in connection with the shift toward automation to streamline yard-waste collections.
Commissioner/Mayor Pro Tem Ron Niland said he was not in favor of buying the carts costing $270,000, with Koch mentioning that he would like to see some demonstrated desire for those by citizens before making this move.
“I think we need to find out who wants them or doesn’t want a brush cart.”
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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