Toccoa approves donation of surplus fire engine to Johnson County

Toccoa’s City Commission unanimously declared a fire engine surplus and approved donating it to Johnson County on June 22, settling the central question raised earlier this spring about whether the older apparatus would remain with the city or be sent elsewhere. The action came two months after Fire Chief Jeff Haslup told commissioners during an April 13 budget meeting that he wanted to surplus or donate the truck to a fire station south of Toccoa.

The decision matters because it removes a piece of firefighting equipment from Toccoa’s inventory and authorizes a change in its ownership and future use. It also comes as the Fire Department weighs equipment and staffing needs, including a new fire truck, personnel and a requested position—choices that shape how the city maintains its emergency-response capacity while replacing or retiring older apparatus.

Haslup first put the older truck’s disposition before commissioners at the April budget meeting, pairing two possible paths: declare it surplus or donate it to a station south of the city. That discussion was not itself a transfer or approval. By June 22, commissioners took the formal step the earlier conversation had left open, unanimously approving a motion to declare the engine surplus and donate it to Johnson County.

Haslup presented the idea in the context of the department’s broader request for newer equipment and personnel. The City Commission ultimately backed the donation unanimously. Johnson County is the approved recipient, according to the June minutes, while the April discussion described the possible destination more generally as a station south of Toccoa.

The surplus declaration and authorization to donate are completed commission actions, not merely proposals. The minutes establish the approval but do not say whether the engine has already been physically transferred or entered service in Johnson County. They also do not identify its make, age, condition or value, or describe any terms associated with the donation.

The next public confirmation would be a city record or other official notice showing the donation’s implementation, such as a completed transfer or delivery. What remains unresolved in the public record is when Johnson County will receive the engine, how it will be used and whether Toccoa will take any additional action to replace the apparatus within its own fleet.