- By Dan Veaner
- News
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The Lansing Fire Commissioners approved a proposed $2.5 million 2019 budget Tuesday. $1,349,199 of that will be raised in taxes, with the remainder coming from capital reserves, notably $1,00,5217 that is paying for a new fire truck (apparatus) currently under construction. The levy, which falls below the allowed state tax cap, represents a $58,327 rise from the current year's levy.
"We've got a million dollars for apparatus," District Treasurer George Gesslein said. "And a half a million on top of that to go into apparatus reserves for the next piece (of apparatus), and a contingency fund of $174,000."
Gesslein estimates the tax rate will be 94.1 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, up 2.1 cents from last year's rate.
"It's mostly what we discussed," Gesslein told the Commissioners. "So the levy for 2019 is $1,349,199. The tax rate works out to be 94.1 cents per thousand dollars worth of assessed property."
Just under half of the $2,504,199 budget is coming from retained earnings, interest on bank deposits, plus a million dollars from the apparatus reserve. A transfer of $100,000 from this year's budget insures the District can pay its bills for the first two months before it receives the property taxes collected. Transferring the money from the apparatus reserve will allow the district to pay cash for a new pumper tanker fire truck without added expense taking out loans would have cost taxpayers. That truck is in the planning phase now, but Gesslein says the plan is to purchase it at the end of this year with anticipated delivery at the end of next year or the beginning of 2020.
"The total budget is the $2.5 million number because we have funds from reserves and other sources within our various accounts," Gesslein says. "When we spend $1 million or so on a fire truck, we take most of those funds from our reserve accounts."
Lansing Fire Department's heavy rescue vehicle 1141, over 20 years old, is due to be replaced with a new apparatus later this year. Heavy rescue vehicles are designed for emergencies such as car accidents and building collapses where special equipment, such as 'jaws of life' and other tools to help extract victims from confined spaces or vehicles that no longer have functioning doors.The District has already paid cash for a new $1.3 million heavy rescue vehicle is currently under construction in Wisconsin where Deputy Fire Chief Brad George told the Commissioners five department members will travel at the end of this month to conduct the first of two inspections on the vehicle.
"They think the cab and the frame will be merged later this week," he reported. "They are still finishing production of the body, and they'll paint that. It will be kind of together when we get there, but there will be hardly any interior work done. We'll probably return for the final inspection a month after that, and then it will be coming home."
The Commissioners voted Tuesday to approve the proposed budget. Fire Commissioner and District Secretary Alvin Parker says that a public budget hearing is scheduled at Central Station for October 16th during a Fire Commissioners meeting at 6:30pm, after which any changes prompted by public input will be considered, and the commissioners will vote to adopt the final budget.
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