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After Chief’s Vehicle Breaks Down, City Council Dips into ARPA Funds for Replacement; Plus, State Lends Wildland Response Vehicle

HOLTVILLE — With the most recent breakdown of Holtville Fire Chief Alex Silva’s fire command vehicle, the City Council unanimously voted to replace the vehicle using American Rescue Plan Act funds.

Silva’s vehicle, a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe, had been in use by the city for the last 14 years and had more than 113,000 miles on it when the council approved the purchase of a replacement during its meeting on Monday, Aug. 22.

Over the last few years, the vehicle had experienced several mechanical failures, but recently, multiple issues led the city to bring it into a repair shop where it was recommended the engine be replaced soon.

“(The mechanic) said we can fix it temporarily, and that will be $700, but it needs a new engine and that will be between $6,000 and $7,000,” Silva said.

As a part of the current year’s budget process, Silva had requested the vehicle be replaced due to the age and state of degradation, hoping to replace the Tahoe with some style of pickup truck.

Rather than using the city budget to cover the cost, the ARPA COVID-19 relief funding had been discussed as an alternative source of funding for the vehicle.

“We went out and got some ideas … we just started with the Chevy dealership to kind of go in there and get some quotes on used vehicles,” Holtville City Manager Nick Wells said.

The city has continued its practice of having the vehicles quoted lean toward lightly used units in an effort to save money. The quotes showed that a used vehicle would fall in the $45,000 to $50,000 range, with a new Tahoe in the $60,000 range, prompting the city to place a $60,000 cap on the purchase of the new vehicle.

“We just don’t want to get something that’s going to last,” Wells said.

The City Council voted unanimously to give classified and supervisory employees a 2.5 percent salary increase after months of negotiating with the employees’ bargaining unit.

The city is also giving its employees a 1.0 percent cost-of-living lump sum payment to be paid in December, essentially bringing the entire salary increase to 3.5 percent in total. An additional $50 per month city contribution allowance toward health insurance premiums will also be included as a part of the salary increase package.

These changes will result in about $42,000 additional expenditures above the levels the city of Holtville budgeted in the fiscal 2022-23 budget. In order to meet that demand, the city will be dividing the cost between the general, water and sewer funds, with about $15,000 absorbed by sewer and the general fund, and the final $12,000 will be absorbed by the water fund.

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“Both sides gave a little more than they wanted to give up before they wanted to, so that’s probably the barometer for success for this,” Wells said.

The city of Holtville received a new Strike Team Vehicle from the California Office of Emergency Services to be used when the Holtville Fire Department strike team is called to assist with fires outside of Holtville.

The vehicle is a Ford F622 with a 6.7-liter diesel engine, and comes equipped with wildland firefighting tools, water bags, shovels, a ladder, debris hooks, a first-aid kit, burn kit, water pump with matching fittings, a hose, and a set of electronic hydraulic Jaws of Life with five battery systems.

The city received the vehicle at no cost after Regional Fire Mutual Aid Chief and former Imperial County Chief Executive Office Tony Rouhotas reached out to Silva, offering him one of 14 vehicles available.

Rouhotas couldn’t be reached for comment on how CalOES acquired the vehicles, but CalOES retains ownership of the vehicle with the agreement that the city may use it as necessary, so long as when there is a large fire and CalOES is requesting the engine, Holtville sends a crew to assist in the emergency.

“All we had to do is submit the paperwork, get the paperwork approved by the City Council, and get the paperwork turned back in and we got the truck,” Silva said in an interview after the City Council meeting.

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