Pitman council weighs $6.5M in capital requests; fire truck timing draws debate

Council President Mazzola summarized the borough’s Capital Requests at about $6.5 million, listing new Public Works vehicles, two new fire trucks, building improvements for Fire Company No. 1, repairs to Sunset Auditorium and road improvements. He said removing the requested fire trucks would reduce the Capital total to roughly $3.2 million.

Councilman Blackmore urged setting aside at least a portion of the fire truck cost in Capital so the purchase is not indefinitely delayed; others favored gradually building capital reserves and asking department heads to rank priorities. Administrator McCafferty said she will meet with department heads ahead of the April 27 work session to clarify which requests are essential and which can be deferred or phased over multiple years.

Officials discussed protecting large equipment investments (for example, sheltering trash trucks from the weather) and exploring shared services with the school district or Chamber of Commerce to reduce costs. CFO Bachich noted road improvements included in Capital help complete projects that are only partially funded by grants and can leverage grant dollars.