CHICKASHA – The City Council voted to secure alternate financing for the $3.14 million loan needed to buy two new fire trucks.
The council voted Sept. 16, 2024, to obtain financing from Liberty Bank for acquisition of a ladder truck and an engine/pumper truck. The loan commanded a 4.75% interest rate over the 10 years required to pay off the debt.
Two days after that vote the Federal Reserve approved a half-point reduction in the benchmark interest rate.
The council voted Feb. 3 to rescind the vote taken almost five months earlier because Liberty Bank “has advised that they are not able to provide the financing terms that are required by the City.” The bank “wanted additional collateral,” Finance Director Elaine Jensen informed the council.
Instead, the City of Chickasha will sign a “lease and option agreement” with First National Bank & Trust Co. The city will make 120 monthly rental payments at an annual interest rate of 4.75%.
Chickasha will pay $2,126,805 for a 100foot aerial truck and $1,016,797 for a 750-gallon pumper truck, city records indicate.
In each case, “This lease/purchase item will not come on the books until delivery of the truck,” which is not expected for 34 to 38 months, and payments won’t start until approximately one year after delivery, Fire Chief Tony Samaniego told the council last year. No down payment is required, he said.
Samaniego said the Chickasha Fire Department has submitted its orders for both trucks. The City Council followed his recommendations and accepted bids submitted by Sutphen, a family-owned emergency services vehicle manufacturer based in Amlin, Ohio.
“We’ll budget $300,000 this year” and plan to set aside similar amounts each following year in order to have “roughly $1 million” in cash when the new vehicles arrive, the chief previously told the council.
The new fire trucks will be financed from the proceeds of a 1.25% sales tax Chickasha voters approved on Aug. 8, 2023, primarily to pay for construction of a new water treatment plant and other capital improvements, Samaniego said.
The vehicles will be purchased through Heartland Fire Trucks based in Marlow, and its service center is located “in the Central High area” near Duncan, he said. Sutphen will provide a five-year service plan for both vehicles, records reflect.
The two trucks are expected to serve the City of Chickasha “for the next 20 years,” Samaniego indicated.
Chickasha’s Department of Fire and EMS operates a fleet of 13 emergency vehicles from two stations, the chief told Southwest Ledger.