The Cost of Doing Business: Why Is the District Planning to Bond Fire Apparatus Purchases? There is always concern regarding the cost to the taxpayer to operate the fire district and we wanted to set the record straight.

Henrietta is one of eleven fire agencies in the county that is either a fully career or combination (mix of career firefighters and volunteers). Two of these agencies, the City of Rochester Fire Department and the Airport Fire Department, are both fully career and operate under different funding models, through the city and county, respectively. Of the remaining nine, Henrietta has the third lowest tax rate. The 2 agencies with lower rates than Henrietta are both smaller agencies, who even when combined, have less staffing, both career and volunteer, apparatus, and stations. Those agencies with higher tax rates range from 52% higher to 235% higher (2024 rates). We strive to provide the best value and highest quality service in the most cost effective way.

Not dissimilar to the average citizen, we are seeing the cost of everything go up, in some cases dramatically. For example, a pumper that was ordered in December of 2021 at a cost of approximately $640,000 and had a 14 month delivery time. Today, that same pumper, is almost $1,200,000! The price almost doubled in less than 36 months and the delivery time has risen to 30 months. One of the reasons for this is the new emissions standards that have been implemented by the Federal Government. The new motor requirements increased the cost of a fire truck by over $100,000 alone. Electric fire apparatus, without the necessary infrastructure upgrades factored in, cost over $2,000,000 for an equivalent vehicle. Our protective gear, the pants and coats we wear every day, have increased to over $5000 a set and due to the push to remove “forever chemicals” from the gear and to keep the members safer, the life span of that gear is now no longer than 5 years.

The largest portion of our budget is also the most important, and that is the people. While we need apparatus and equipment, the people are who put out the fires and perform CPR. Over 90% of the budget encompasses personnel. This not only includes salaries and benefits for the career staff, but medical evaluations for all personnel, insurance, LOSAP (the pension program for volunteers), NYS retirement, and so on.

The issue that the district (along with every other fire district) faces is that it only has one dedicated funding stream, and that is taxes. Unlike the town or the school district, the district does not receive annual, dedicated state or federal assistance, nor do we receive a share of sales tax revenue. Fire Districts were not included in the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding that was distributed after COVID. We do not receive permit, building inspection or avoidable alarm fees. Again, unlike the school district and towns, we do not have a seat at the table during negotiations for PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) awards to new businesses/construction. The district has been fortunate enough to receive grant funding from both New York State and the Federal Governments for specific projects as well as some grant funding from local businesses and voluntary donations from such entities as RIT, but these account for generally less than 1% of the budget. Federal and State Public Safety grants are generally directed towards Law Enforcement activities and not towards fire and EMS.

Bond for Replacement of Apparatus

On the ballot this year, there will be a vote as to whether or not to permit the district to bond two pieces of apparatus, a pumper and a ladder. Currently, our front line apparatus consist of:

Two (2) 2023 Pumpers (career)

One 2022 Ladder (volunteer)

One 2019 Ladder (career) PROPOSED FOR REPLACEMENT

One 2016 Pumper (career)

One 2012 Pumper (career) PROPOSED FOR REPLACEMENT

Three (3) 2010 Pumpers (volunteer)

Our updated capital replacement program targets career pumper replacement in the 6 to 10 year range and ladder replacement at 10 years, which is in line with national recommendations. At those time frames, pumpers are close to 100,000 miles and the ladder will be between 80,000 and 90,000 miles. With the hour usage taken into account, the mile equivalency is close to half a million miles. The bond being proposed, should it be passed, would allow the district to order a replacement for the 2012 pumper and the 2019 ladder, with the understanding that the apparatus would not be completed until sometime in 2027 or 28 for the pumper and 2029 for the ladder. It is anticipated, that since the delivery times are so far out, and the district will have been able to save funding to the capital reserve fund to pay for the pumper upon delivery and to possibly offset the cost of the ladder to minimize any execution of the bond. Unfortunately, according to NYS requirements, the district cannot order a piece of equipment without first having the full amount of the purchase on hand. That can only be accomplished through a bond or having that amount of money in the reserve account. By bonding, it allows the district to order at today’s prices, saving taxpayer money, and still save money to the reserve account.