By MELISSA MARTIN

Brunswick Post editor

Brunswick Hills Township received its newly purchased snow plow last week just in time to put it to work for last weekend's snow storm.

Township trustee Christina Kusnerak said the 2012 International 7400 dump truck/snow plow was delivered to the township Feb. 9 and was put into action the following day clearing the roadways during what has been one of this winter's larger snowfalls.

The truck, which the township purchased through the state bid process at a cost of $121,415, is the first vehicle the township has ever purchased for its service department that has been brand new. If that's not enough of a reward, the truck, which brings the department's snow plow fleet to four, is already paid in full.

"We decided not to finance this purchase and in the process, saved the township thousands of dollars in interest," Kusnerak said. "Because our service department is not supported by a levy, being able to purchase a new truck for the department without the help of levy funding is really a big deal for our community."

Kusnerak said trustees considered purchasing the vehicle, which is larger than any of the department's existing snow plows, using service department revenues, which are generated through motor vehicle, gas, and license taxes, as well as road and bridge funds. While that money is used to fund all township road repairs and service department operations, she said it has also traditionally been used to purchase equipment for the department.

"Because this was a new vehicle we were considering, we knew it would deplete those funds tremendously," Kusnerak said.

For that reason, Kusnerak said trustees elected to use general fund revenues to pay for the truck instead.

"This way, we could still have the truck paid off, but we would still have the service department funds available to use for fixing the streets," Kusnerak said. "I think the residents will be happy knowing that by purchasing the truck outright we saved the department thousands of dollars in interest payments."

The township is looking to purchase a smaller truck for the department later this year, Kusnerak said, and again, the township will be looking to pay for the purchase in cash.

"Right now, the repair bills on the truck we're looking to replace are getting rather costly, so we're trying to decide whether to replace it or keep fixing it for a while longer," she said. "If we do decide to replace it, we would definitely like to pay for it outright, but that will all depend on how our financial situation plays out in light of state funding cuts and cuts to local government funds."