Atwater fire officials reveal equipment prices, but not in detail

Atwater fire officials last week disclosed some equipment prices for the city’s new firetruck after a Merced Sun-Star article reported the agency’s refusal to do so, but the list provided to the public didn’t include a detailed breakdown of each item’s cost.

The list of prices, released to the public at an Atwater City Council meeting last Monday, only gave the totals for several categories of equipment, such as extrication gear, medical supplies, hoses and hand tools. Each category was assigned a low, moderate or high priority by fire officials.

The most expensive category was extrication equipment, according to the list, costing $31,729.05. The gear was given moderate priority.

Self-contained breathing apparatus, devices worn by firefighters that provide breathable air in a fiery atmosphere, was listed as $52,336.80. However, fire officials said they cut the cost to $7,764.74 by purchasing fewer devices. They were ranked as a “low priority” purchase.

Hoses were the second priciest purchase at $7,448.76, the list showed. The highest priority items were hoses, nozzles, adapters, hand tools, medical supplies and communication devices.

The total equipment cost will run $80,000, paid by Measure H revenue, a voter-approved sales tax for public safety. Because the purchase is funded by taxpayer dollars, Councilman Joe Rivero pushed to have a price list made available to the public.

Unlike the general price categories provided to the public on March 9, a more detailed list containing individual prices was given to members of the City Council.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officials previously said releasing the price list could compromise relationships with vendors, as some companies gave Cal Fire special pricing. Battalion Chief Mark Pimentel said the agency also wanted to wait to purchase the items before releasing prices.

“We had a range of prices, so we didn’t want to release something until we knew exactly what we spent,” Pimentel said.

Rivero said he appreciates Cal Fire’s recent effort to release some pricing information, but it’s up to the taxpayers to decide if it’s detailed enough. “They are trying to be a little more forward and that’s good,” Rivero said, “but people need to know the facts. That’s the problem with politics – people don’t have the whole story.”

Pimentel said Cal Fire won’t release the more detailed price list because it could create more questions. “People don’t understand what all the items are and it’s going to get more dragged out,” he said. “The city has never done that before, as far as what they’ve bought. We don’t put out an itemized breakdown of costs.”

Mayor Pro Tem Larry Bergman defended Cal Fire’s actions. In an interview last week, Bergman said Cal Fire officials took an extra step releasing the equipment prices. Purchases from other city departments, which are also funded by taxpayer dollars, don’t attract nearly as much scrutiny, he said.

But the new firetruck is a sore subject for some city officials and residents. Some criticize the truck’s $890,048 price tag and question whether such a large piece of equipment is necessary in Atwater. Others say the 109-foot ladder truck will help the city grow by attracting multistory developments.

Rivero also criticized Cal Fire officials for not putting out a public bid to find the most competitive equipment prices, instead of hand-picking the vendors. But Pimentel said the city saved $45,000 to $50,000 by selecting vendors without a public bid.

Cal Fire will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony next month, the chief added, where residents can see all the equipment that was purchased.

This story was originally published March 16, 2015 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Atwater fire officials reveal equipment prices, but not in detail."