In the wake of a recent City Council vote to approve a $500,000 bond order to purchase a new fire engine, and considering the skyrocketing costs of fuel, should fire engines continue to be used in parades?
This is a question asked by a Frederick County commissioner in Maryland.
Frederick County uses $1.1 million gallons of fuel a year. It includes gasoline for dumptrucks, cruisers, fire trucks and snow plows. Fifty-six percent of the fuel is diesel, ran The Frederick News-Post in this story yesterday.
Every morning I receive an email digest from the International City/County Management Association with snippets from domestic news outlets about municipal issues. The Frederick story was in today’s digest.
The story goes on and mentions a county-wide “fuel conservation policy” is in the works for every county department, not just fire and rescue. Once the policy is complete, the county will ask each department to develop conservation strategies and send them back for review and adoption.
Granted, Newburyport’s costs are miniscule compared to an entire county but the point remains valid: Should fire trucks (or any other city vehicles that drain financial resources) be used in parades or other extraneous circumstances? If so, who pays for the gas and depreciation?
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Ari Herzog is an online media strategist and Newburyport City Councilor-Elect.
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