Fire chief wants city to pay

PEA RIDGE — Presenting several options for a new ambulance to the City Council at the regular meeting Tuesday, April 17, Fire Chief Frank Rizzio told council members to “find a way to finance it” after he was asked whether the money was in his budget.

Rizzio said he had sent e-mails to each of the council members detailing the ambulance units at which he had been looking and that there was one unit for about $134,000.

“Basically it’s augmenting the one we have now,” Rizzio said, adding that the current unit is 12 years old. “When the ambulance is being maintained, you don’t have an ambulance in town.”

Council member Ray Easley asked: “Does this look like it’s inyour budget?”

“That’s not in mine,” Rizzio said.

Council member Nadine Telgemeier said the current ambulance was paid for by city general, but city recorder/treasurer Sandy Button told her it was paid for by Ambulance Department funds before the Ambulance and Firedepartments were merged.

“The Ambulance Department saved up and bought it,” Mayor Jackie Crabtree said.

“Your income has gone from $74,000 to $267,000 with the Fire Department doubling the dues,” Easley said. “It looks like the Fire Department is bringing in good money, but their labor is going up.”

“We can’t come up with that money out of City General. That’s not there,” Button said.

Telgemeier said: “I’m going to get sticky right now.

The librarian comes out of City General. We’re going to increase to two full-timers ... safety trumps ...”

“You could cut one of your cleanups to pay,” Telgemeier said.

Street superintendent Nathan See said: “If you cut one of your cleanups, you’ll still pay the same amount because you’ll double the number of dumpsters you’ll use at one.”

“Robbing Peter to pay Paul doesn’t work sometimes,” the mayor said.

“Anything is going to cost this money. If you’re not willing to invest in the program ... when one of your neighbors needs an ambulance, it will face you directly. Not whether you flush the toilet, walk on a sidewalk to Givens, or have another shelf in the library. This is a life and death situation that will eventually come to a head,”Rizzio said, telling council members he will bring it to them again next month. “You need to decide what you’re going to do. Do me a favor, do all of us a favor, roll this around.”