The Kronenwetter case of the missing fire truck payment

How the village bought a fire truck but never approved the loan to pay for it; and nearly missed the first payment.

Kronenwetter’s new fire truck has become the center of the latest controversy in the village.

Lee Turonie had the most succinct summary for a problem brought forward Wednesday night at a special Kronenwetter Village Board meeting: “This is essentially a paperwork issue,” Turonie told the board. Later on, he clarified: “It is a real problem, to be clear, but we can fix it.”

What’s that problem? At the village board’s October 2022 meeting, the board voted in favor of purchasing a fire truck for $1.35 million. The board ordered staff to look into a truck that would be $50,000 cheaper that was already being built, and if that wasn’t an option, to buy a new truck at the price agreed on. Staff was to look into best rates on a loan and bring that back to staff.

But that never happened. The village board never approved the actual borrowing for the fire truck, which is currently sitting in the village garage after the village obtained a loan from CoVantage. And it nearly missed the first payment, which would have cost the village taxpayers more money.