Council authorizes purchase of new medic unit with four‑year lead time

Bellbrook City Council adopted Resolution 2026‑R‑25 authorizing the city manager to use the Ohio Cooperative Purchasing Program to order a medic unit for the fire department and waive local competitive bidding because the cooperative procurement is already competitively bid.

City Manager Rob Schomer said the authorization effectively locks in the unit’s price and accounts for the lengthy production lead time observed on previous orders. "This resolution... authorizes us putting that order in, and we will reappropriate the money when we're certain we'll be able to expend that in an encumbrance when we actually get a delivery date," Schomer said. A council member noted the current medic is 15 years old and supported the purchase: "The medic's 15 years old... this makes sense," a council member said.

Council approved the resolution by voice vote and staff said the purchase will be scheduled and appropriated in the budget when delivery timing is confirmed.