Fees for fire trucks.

Lawrence city commissioners were presented with a list of ways the city could start raising more money from fire and medical operations to help pay for what the fire chief said is a serious need to replace aging fire engines.

Among the ideas: charging people and businesses for false fire alarms, and charging Kansas University and Haskell Indian Nations University for nonmedical emergency calls that the department makes to the campuses.

The false fire alarm fee appeared to have some traction with commissioners and staff members.

“I don’t have a problem charging fees for false alarms,” Mayor Mike Dever said. “I would just like to know how common it is.”

City Manager David Corliss said staff members would be studying the issue closely as the city puts together a 2009 budget, which is expected to be one of the tighter budgets in recent memory. Corliss said staff members likely would look at the false alarm concept for security alarms that the police department responds to.

Fire Chief Mark Bradford estimates that if the city charged $25 per false alarm, the city could collect about $18,000 per year. The city had about 700 false fire alarms in 2007.

The bigger revenue generator, though, would be to charge fees to KU and Haskell for some services. Bradford estimated that the city could collect about $185,000 if the universities were charged $500 for non-EMS related responses it made. In 2007, KU had 325 such calls and Haskell had 48.

But that idea may be a tough sell in City Hall.

“When we’ve looked at that in the past, it has always come back as something we’ve decided not to do,” Corliss said.

He said any analysis of the idea would have to measure what the university provides to the city for free or little cost. For example, the headquarters for the fire and medical department sits on property owned by Kansas University Endowment Association.

None of the fees proposals – which also included charging a small fee for the city’s bike helmet program – would generate enough money by themselves to pay for three new fire engines that Bradford said the department needs.

Current estimates are that the city needs to spend $2.1 million to replace two quint fire trucks and a technical rescue truck. The technical rescue truck has been retired because of a blown engine, and the two quints are becoming expensive to maintain, Bradford said.

“We’re spending more money on some of these vehicles than what the vehicles are worth,” Bradford said.

All four commissioners – Commissioner Sue Hack was absent – said they were interested in including the fire trucks in the 2009 budget, but a majority of commissioners also said they weren’t willing to raise taxes to do so.

Commissioners have until mid-August to complete the 2009 budget. Budget hearings continue at 2 p.m. today at City Hall.