Inflation spells price tag increases for public safety equipment

At the May 20 budget workshop, Longboat Key town commissioners discussed a preliminary capital budget for fiscal year 2025. In it were some important purchases for the town’s police and fire rescue departments. 

Many of the purchases are replacements or upgrades for the departments’ existing equipment, something that is routine for both departments. 

The money for these purchases largely comes from the infrastructure surtax (IST) funds, or sales tax, from Manatee and Sarasota counties. 

“The infrastructure surtax is very important for this town,” Finance Director Sue Smith said at the workshop. “Public safety really relies upon it quite a bit for paying for their vehicles and their equipment.”

Of the town’s IST spending for FY25, about $2,462,235 is projected to be used on public safety vehicles and equipment. 

That includes things like vehicles, defibrillators, bunker gear, in-car cameras and radios. The costs of some of the major purchases are seen in the accompanying graphics. 

Other purchases included upgrading the vehicles’ network from 4G to 5G to address connectivity issues, according to Smith. 

When Smith recalculated some of the costs prior to the budget workshop, she said that there were some issues caused by inflation. 

For example, the ladder truck and all its equipment was originally supposed to cost $950,000. Now, the price tag is about $1.76 million, which is up $811,000. 

Ladder trucks are replaced about every 12-15 years, according to Fire Rescue Chief Paul Dezzi. Ambulances are evaluated for replacement about every seven years. 

Smith also noted that it takes about two years for ladder trucks to be ready off the assembly line after the purchase order is submitted. In that case, the cash needed to be available in FY25 to submit the purchase order. 

Another issue Smith ran into was balancing the next phase of the IST funds. Phase 4 runs for 15 years, from 2025-2039, and begins in January 2025. 

In that phase, the town expects a total of $15,127,000 in IST funds. Of that, $7,469,000, or 49%, will go toward public safety. 

This was originally presented to town commissioners in 2021 and the commissioners passed a resolution in 2022 in support of the plan. But since 2022, there have been major inflationary changes, Smith said at the recent workshop. 

Projected funds needed for public safety rose from $7.5 million to $11 million. 

The increase will require Smith to balance the funds, she said. That means patrol car replacements needed to be split strategically between Manatee County and Sarasota County IST funds, and scheduled when cash would be available for each. 

Smith also proposed that the $1.76 million needed for the ladder truck replacement be moved from the IST Phase 4 budget and into the FY25 Miscellaneous Capital Fund, which would use General Fund reserves. 

This will help balance the projected overages caused by inflation in Phase 4 of the IST funds, Smith told commissioners at the workshop. 

The next budget workshop is scheduled for June 17 at 10 a.m.