Hull Fire Dept. to get new truck

The department is seeking a 2009 model truck that features a six-person cab and a 1,500-gallon-per-minute pump, which is larger that any of the department’s current truck pumps. The department has $75,000 saved for a down payment.

County commissioners agreed Monday to assist the Hull Volunteer Fire Department by co-signing on the $319,000 truck. County commission chairman Anthony Dove received permission from the BOC to sign off on the paperwork after it’s reviewed by county attorney Mike Pruett.

“I understand there are significant savings if the document can be signed before April 1,” Pruett told the board. “Looking at it, it appears this is going to be a pretty standard transaction.”

The Hull VFD initially sought assistance with the transaction from the city of Hull. But the arrangement would have come with monetary strings that Mayor Paul Elkins said the city couldn’t handle.

“We had to respectfully decline due to budgeting limitations,” Elkins said.

Under the agreement, the city would have co-signed the purchase to allow the Hull Fire Department to use the city’s sales tax code to save $21,000 in sales tax costs.

Elkins said Hull couldn’t afford the annual $3,000 insurance payment on the truck, nor take responsibility of the fire department’s $31,000 yearly payments should the HVFD default on the loan.

“It just wasn’t workable,” Elkins said. “… We told them we support you, we love what you do, we respect what you do, but financially we can’t do it,” he said.

The city’s budget is $70,000 a year, and Hull levies no taxes. Elkins said that all but $4,000 of that budget is already allotted, and the city needs that extra money for emergencies.