City Fire Department seeks 3 new vehicles in '23

Aug. 18—ANDERSON — If funding sought for the Anderson Fire Department for 2023 is approved, almost all of its fleet will have been replaced in the last seven years.

During the council's Wednesday budget review session, Fire Chief Dave Cravens said

the only one of its 11 trucks that would not have been replaced recently is the ladder truck.

The 2023 budget includes funding for a new truck at Station 2, a new ambulance and a new vehicle for the battalion chief.

Cravens said the department makes 22,000 runs per year, of which 13,000 are medical runs.

The department is budgeted for 110 employees. Cravens said there are currently 108 members, though three are leaving early next year.

He said the department will start the hiring process in 2023.

The department's budget for gasoline is increasing by 91% from $110,000 to $210,000 in 2023.

Fred Reese, superintendent of the Anderson city building maintenance department, told council members a new air conditioning chiller, at an estimated cost of $150,000, will need to be purchased in 2024.

Tamie Dixon-Tatum, director of the Civil & Human Rights Department, said she would like to hire a senior investigator, junior investigator and intake specialist in the near future.

She said the current senior investigator retired this month.

Dixon-Tatum is the only person working in the office currently.

She would also like to hire a part-time public defender to assist with legal cases in the office.

Mayor Thomas Broderick Jr. said the intention is to hire a senior investigator in 2023.

Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.