An approximately $7.7 million omnibus equipment request for purchases needed across city departments was approved Tuesday by the Gary Common Council.
The council unanimously approved the request which includes about $1.4 million for the police department and $1.9 million for the fire department. American Rescue Plan Act funds will be used to pay for the purchases.
The Prince administration May 4 requested the funding for what was described at the time as needed equipment across the city’s departments after years of delays and deferred purchases.
Council Vice President Tai Adkins, D-4th, said the request was reviewed last week in the Ways and Means Committee meeting.
“We asked the administration to ensure we were doing the necessities for this first round,” Adkins said.
The initial requests were sent back to department heads who were asked to reduce, where possible, the amount requested. The city will receive a second round of ARPA funding, some of which may also be used for capital equipment purchases.
Funding for the police and fire departments is part of about $4.5 million that will be spread across multiple departments. General services will receive about $976,000 and building and code enforcement about $230,000. The health department will receive about $71,000, according to Mileak Harper, city controller. The new park department will receive about $3.2 million in funds.
Adkins questioned why the amount requested by the fire department increased to $1.3 million from $1.1 million instead of decreased after the requests were sent back to department heads for review.
Mayor Jerome Prince said the funds will be used to purchase a ladder truck for the fire department. He said the chief did some research to come up with the initial estimate, but after further review the fire truck likely will cost more because of the specific equipment needed by the city.
“I assure you there is nothing nefarious going on here. This is the amount needed. If there are reserves if funds left, we will return them to the general fund,” Prince said.
Fire Chief Sean O’Donnell said while he did his best to get a realistic price for the equipment, but it is impossible to get an exact quote for what is needed until a commitment to purchase is made and you sit down with the truck designers to design the vehicle to the department’s specific needs.
