If next winter brings substantial snow to West Windsor the Department of Public Works plans to have a new 2012 Ford F550 Chassis Cab, outfitted with a nine-foot plow, to help clear township roads. But after members of the public and Councilman Bryan Maher raised questions about the $56,100 cost of the truck at the council meeting on Monday, February 13, a vote was delayed for two weeks as Business Administrator Robert Hary will ask Director of Public Works Alex Drummond to provide a report including the current inventory of vehicles and reasons why a new F550 is needed.
Council is set to review the recommendation for the purchase, which would come through state contract from Ditschman/Flemington Ford, at its February 27 meeting. The purchase of a new truck was initially approved in the 2009 capital budget, but Hary says the township held off to use its existing fleet over the last few winters.
Debbie Hepler of 10 Dean Court in West Windsor spoke at the February 13 meeting, comparing the cost of the truck to the savings that Hary and Mayor Hsueh have mentioned with the shared services agreement for an animal control officer (ACO) with East Windsor.
“In this town we are penny-wise and pound-foolish. Our ACO’s salary was $46,000 and her benefits were $12,000. According to the administration in 2011 we saved $42,000 and in 2012 we will save $62,000 from that position. I think $62,000 is a fudged figure, and we need further justification of our savings, even though we are not really saving it,” Hepler said.
Kim White of 54 Montgomery Street mentioned that the F550 would be the second truck for Public Works this year. She says there have been enough new vehicles purchased for township departments, including police and fire.
“These vehicles are always new, not used or demo models. Is there ever talk of laying off employees from any of the departments since we keep needing new vehicles? Actually no; three people have been hired in the Public Works department, including one in a newly created position. So how can you justify a $56,100 Ford truck for Public Works?” White asked.
Councilman Maher, who met with Hary earlier in the afternoon, also questioned the necessity of the purchase.
“Clearly we have a lot of trucks to serve the Public Works department. Why hasn’t council seen a list of the trucks and other vehicles, with the condition they are in and the depreciated values?” he asked.
Maher said as council begins its annual budget review “Mr. Hary and Public Works will ask for more trucks” so an inventory of vehicles will help with analysis.
Although Maher admitted not knowing much about large work trucks he said the base price of the township’s chosen model increased from $37,800 to $56,100 because of extra options added .
Hary responded that the truck would serve as a multi-purpose replacement. “This is a new dump truck to replace truck 15 — a 1999 Dodge Masonbilt truck which is in need of a new motor and transmission, and also major suspension work. It’s not worth the repairs — parts alone would be about $7,500. This is something we need as the old truck did get pretty beat up during snowstorms over the past few years,” Hary said.
Maher also said selecting a smaller F350, a more common choice for Public Works, over an F550 would save $10,000 to $15,000. Ditschman/Flemington Ford currently sells F550s under state contract for anywhere between $40,000 and $100,000, depending on added components, and F350s typically run $7,000 less than F550s when outfitted with the same work equipment and a box or bed in the rear. Hary said Public Works recommended the F550 based on past experience with other trucks.
“According to Alex Drummond the model is needed because it’s going to have a steel chipper box on it and the F550 can hold a heavier payload. Also the F350s have had transmission problems when pushing snow in the past few years,” Hary said.
