No place to save a buck

By the time the Bulletin goes to print, the Brick Township Council will have already voted on whether to approve a change order that calls for electric side steps to be installed on three new ambulances.

One of the ambulances is slated for the Herbertsville First Aid Squad. The other two will go to the township-run Brick EMS units.

The township has already saved up to $40,000 on the ambulances by going with a stock order, rather than a custom order, council President Stephen C. Acropolis said.

The price tag for all three ambulances will rise slightly from $267,000 to $268,785 if the change order is approved.

In the past, a single ambulance has run as high as $125,000. So township officials have done a wise thing. They have saved taxpayers money without sacrificing needed resources.

Then how does one explain Councilman Michael Thulen's puzzling comments at the Jan. 23 caucus meeting?

Thulen questioned the need for the electric steps.

"Did anybody think to say no?" he said somewhat caustically. "The old ambulances didn't have electric steps. We know how to say no."

His comments don't make much sense in a world where the number of volunteers drops every day. It's hard enough to find people to serve on squads. That's one of the reasons the township ended up with paid squads.

An electric side step doesn't exactly qualify as a luxury item. Squad members didn't ask for a widescreen TV inside the rig, or Godiva bonbons to eat on the way to Ocean Medical Center.

Some of the volunteers on the Herbertsville squad have given decades of service. That means years of missed dinners, holidays and family functions, all gladly donated at no cost.

People age, along with ambulances. Anything that makes it easier for squad members to continue to serve should be supplied.

It's not going to drive up the tax rate to supply the township-run rigs with the steps, either.

There's an obesity crisis in America. People weigh more these days. Sometimes it's more difficult to maneuver them into the rigs. The electric side steps make sense.

The township is liable for any back injuries squad members sustain during duty, even if they are volunteer members, Township Administrator Scott Pezarras said.

This is one instance where yes, not no, is the right answer. It's no time to be a cheapskate.