Wilmot council turns down offer to buy discounted new 100-foot aerial fire truck

Galen Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Though Wilmot Fire Chief Rod Leeson spoke about the urgent need to replace the Wilmot Fire Department’s 75-foot aerial ladder truck, township councillors have opted not to proceed with the sudden opportunity to purchase a 100-foot ladder truck at a reduced price.

At Wilmot’s Oct. 6 committee of the whole meeting, Leeson presented the opportunity to purchase a KME 100-foot aerial apparatus from Dependable Truck-Tank & Emergency Vehicles at a cost of $2.08 million. According to the fire chief, the opportunity represented a discount of roughly $300,000 from the normal price of one of these trucks, however councillors would have needed to immediately approve the expenditure as part of the township’s 2026 budget and provide a deposit within 24 hours of the meeting.

“We’re looking at replacing a fire truck that is, right now, a 26-year-old aerial ladder truck,” CAO Jeff Willmer told councillors. “A normal life expectancy for a vehicle like this would be 15-20 years, so if we assume 20, it is already well past its service life. If we don’t take this opportunity right at this moment, we will be looking to replace it almost immediately. So, within the next year or two, you are going to be buying a replacement truck.

“The replacement of our 26-year-old aerial apparatus at Station 3 (in New Hamburg) is now; it’s already overdue,” Leeson added. “This unit has served our community well, but it has exceeded its recommended service life, and it is no longer meeting the operational demands or safety standards required for modern fire response. We have a unique chance – a very unique chance – to secure a stock-built, 100-foot aerial apparatus that aligns with our fire masterplan, fits within our current station and comes at a significantly reduced cost.”

Leeson later noted that the current ladder truck was out of service for repairs earlier this year, which took longer than expected as the fire department searched for a replacement part. He said the truck is out of service more frequently as it continues to age.

While the opportunity was presented as too good to pass up and the chance to upgrade the truck from one with a 75-foot ladder to one with a 100-foot ladder would have allowed the township to put $500,000 from the township’s development charges reserve toward the purchase, councillors were wary about committing to a purchase this size without understanding how it would impact the township’s 10-year capital plan or if it would mean the township would need to levy even more money from taxpayers down the road to continue building up its capital reserves.

“I appreciate the urgency of the situation and that this is a unique opportunity. My concern is we have a budget process right now that is not as clear as it once was,” Coun. Kris Wilkinson said. “We have a new budget process that, still, I don’t think is 100 per-cent clear to the general public. We’ve committed to a nine per-cent capital-funding increase, which means we can expect, at a minimum, a nine per-cent starting point (for the 2026 levy increase).

“This is a concern for me because what I don’t have in front of me is a capital budget or a 10-year capital plan. I don’t know what other projects this is potentially going to impact. I understand it’s a priority … but I can’t in good faith go forward with a purchase like this not knowing, really, truly, what other projects we may be deferring, we may have a direct effect on. I need to know if it’s going to get to the point where all of the sudden … because we bought this truck, we also have to increase taxes X amount of dollars to fund this capital purchase because all these other items simply can’t be deferred.”

Without a township treasurer on staff, Wilmot councillors were initially left with very few answers as to how the purchase of this ladder truck would impact the township’s 10-year capital plan. Ultimately, council agreed to take a brief recess from the meeting to allow Willmer to bring the township’s 10-year capital plan to the council table.

Upon doing so, Willmer discovered that township staff and the previous council had intended to replace the aging ladder truck through long-term debt in the amount of $1.35 million. While that would cover the majority of the remaining cost after using $500,000 from the development charges reserve, Willmer could not tell councillors what the impact of that debt’s repayment would have on the township’s annual operating budget.

Though Leeson argued the cost of the same truck in two to three years time could be as high as $2.6 million, potentially using up whatever additional capital funding the township will have set aside over that time, councillors ultimately voted 3-2 against the purchase.