Habersham County authorizes up to $1.32 million to replace its lone ladder truck

Habersham County commissioners unanimously approved up to $1,324,730 in lease-purchase financing Oct. 21, 2024, to acquire a 2024 E-One Typhoon Class HP75 ladder truck from Fire Line Equipment, LLC. The resolution authorizes Chairman-led financing documents with Leasing 2, Inc. for replacement of the county’s only ladder truck.

The decision puts county borrowing behind a piece of emergency-response equipment that commissioners were told had become a readiness problem. Habersham has one ladder truck, and its reliability matters when fire crews need elevated access, rescues or other operations that cannot be handled by standard engines alone.

The financing proposal followed years of trouble with the county’s existing 1999 Pierce Quantum, which the county bought used in 2016 for $85,000. At the Oct. 21 meeting, commissioners were told it had been out of service about half the time since around 2018, had failed required non-destructive testing because of critical structural concerns, and had already required about $65,000 in repairs. Refurbishing it was estimated at $350,000 to $750,000, setting up the case for a replacement financed through a lease-purchase agreement.

The Board of Commissioners acted as a unified body, approving the resolution 5-0. The proposed arrangement identified Leasing 2, Inc. as the financing company and Fire Line Equipment, LLC as the truck supplier; the public record describes the equipment and financing terms but does not include a competing position or opposition to the resolution.

The commission completed its authorization to enter a lease-purchase arrangement, with borrowing capped at $1.324 million. That vote is not the same as proof that final documents were signed, that the truck was purchased or delivered, or that it has been placed in emergency service; those outcomes remain unestablished in the county actions described here.

The next concrete public step would be county finance, purchasing or commission records showing that the lease-purchase documents with Leasing 2, Inc. were executed. Subsequent records would need to establish whether the E-One truck was bought and delivered, and when—or whether—it became available to Habersham County emergency services.