Hot on the heels of its purchase of a new fire truck for the Kincardine Fire Department, the Tiverton department is a step closer to getting a new pumper truck.
At a recent budget session, Kincardine Council agreed to transfer into reserve 250 thousand dollars towards the new truck.
The newest Spartan Pumper Truck in Kincardine is going to cost almost 440 thousand dollars.
Kincardine fire chief Jamie MacKinnon says their current pumper at the Tiverton station is a 1989 model, well over its 20 year life span.
Councillor Ken Craig — who represents the Tiverton ratepayers — was the only councillor to vote against the expense.
Craig says they’re supposed to be on a cost-savings quest in this year’s budget and spending this money doesn’t send a very good message.
He says in today’s belt tightening, he felt ratepayers would have to understand that they would have to use equipment that’s a year older than they might want to.
Kincardine Mayor Larry Kraemer says fire protection needs to be measured off not so much on the cost to the government but the potential savings on your fire insurance bill for every ratepayer.
He says a capital cost such as proposed with the Tiverton pumper could save more money directly for ratepayers by shaving 5 to 10 points off their insurance bills.
