The Peachtree City Council has approved a plan to finance $7.9 million in capital equipment for the next five years.
The first round of financing for the current fiscal year will allow the city to purchase $1.095 million in equipment at an interest rate of 1.34 percent over five years or 1.61 percent over seven years. The heavy-duty equipment with the longer expected lifespan will be financed over seven years, while all other equipment will be financed over five years, said City Finance Director Paul Salvatore.
The financing proposal from Chase Equipment Finance was the lowest of four bids received by the city, which sent requests for proposals to 12 different financial institutions. A resolution to engage with Chase for the financing was approved by council at a special called meeting Friday morning prior to the annual city council retreat.
This year, the purchases include replacement of the fire department’s rescue vehicle at $175,000 and also nine new patrol vehicles for the police department at $445,500.
The new fire department vehicle will carry four firefighters and will respond to nearly every call in the city to help provide a more swift response to calls, said Fire Chief Ed Eiswerth. The manpower squad vehicle will have a fire suppression system that uses foam for quick attacks,
Also on tap is the purchase of three new dump trucks at $225,000, a replacement email and archiving system at $37,000 and a Bobcat skid steer loader replacement at $39,000.
Other projects to be funded include replacement of two dump truck beds at $44,000, upgrades and replacements for the telephone system at $25,000 and computer workstations at $45,000.
In future years, the financing plan includes replacement of a large number of public safety vehicles for the police and fire departments and a significant amount of heavy equipment used by the public works department.
