The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
New fire trucks OK'd for township
Courts to start using new information software
By Dave Wak, Special Writer
PUBLISHED: February 7, 2008
The Ypsilanti Township Board of Trustees during last week's regular meeting approved the purchase of three new fire engines for $750,000.
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Fire Chief Larry Morabito said the new trucks were badly needed.
Morabito said the engines they're replacing are 18-years-old and have a lot of maintenance problems. He said the repairs would get more expensive as time went on and replacement parts were becoming harder to find.
Fire Captain Vic Chevrette added that the old trucks needed new pumps, new radiators, and new electronics among other repairs.
"They're getting tired and maintenance is starting to become a nightmare," Chevrette said.
The board quizzed both firefighters before approving the purchase.
Township Clerk Brenda Stumbo said she was hesitant to vote "yes" because of an unsure economy and eroding tax revenues.
"You have to ask yourself 'Do we really need to replace these this year?'" Stumbo said.
Township Treasurer Larry Doe brought up that Morabito had tried to get together along with the Brighton, Dearborn, Novi fire departments to collectively bid on fire trucks, but was unsuccessful.
Morabito said that effort failed because none of the three communities needed the same types of trucks, which ultimately drove the cost up.
Morabito said he was surprised the fire truck manufacturers were asking for list prices considering the weak economy.
"I was surprised. I didn't know the fire engine business was this good," Morabito said.
In the end the board decided to go ahead with the purchase. Doe said the board couldn't wait to partner with other communities to try and get deals on firefighting equipment.
"Regardless of what other communities do, we need the trucks," Doe said.
In other business, the board voted unanimously to have the 14-A district court, which is based at the township hall, start using new court records software called Judicial Information Systems, or JIS.
This is part of a state pilot program with Washtenaw and Berrien Counties said Magistrate Charles Pope, who was instrumental in convincing the board to switch to the new software.
JIS will take four years to implement and cost $57,000 for the first year, and $28,000 for the remaining three years.
Pope said the court has been using other software since 1998 through a grant from the state. However, Pope said the old software wasn't very usable now because its manufacturer had gone out of business in 2005.
Pope said the old system had little back up or technical support.
"We knew we had to do something about the system," Pope said.
Pope said the new system would be better for tracking and expediting court records such as traffic and other violations.
The new system also is sponsored by the state. Pope said that this system was being used in 60 percent of Michigan's courts and would not need to be changed for eight years.
Pope said township's investment in the software would pay off before it needed replacing.
"We think this is a real impact project," Pope said.
Dave Wak is an Ypsilanti resident and freelance writer for The Courier. He can be reached at dwak4@hotmail.com.
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