The Lawrence Township Council has approved an ordinance to withdraw $1.9 million from the township’s capital improvement fund to pay for an assortment of items, including in-car and body-worn cameras and electric bicycles for Lawrence Township police officers.
The ordinance also sets aside $190,000 to buy turnout gear – boots, jackets and pants – for Lawrence Township firefighters. Self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), or air tanks, that firefighters use when they enter a burning building also will be purchased.
Portable radios and pagers and related equipment will be purchased for the Lawrence Township Fire Department at a cost of $113,000.
Also, $190,000 is earmarked toward the purchase of a ladder truck and for restoration of a fire truck for the Lawrence Township Fire Department. Money is being set aside over several years to pay for a new ladder truck.
A garbage truck and a pickup truck will be purchased. The Office on Aging van will be replaced. Three vehicles for deputy fire chiefs also are on the list.
A crew cab four-wheel drive emergency vehicle will be purchased for the Lawrence Township Office of Emergency Management.
Funding for the purchases is coming from the township’s capital improvement fund, which is money that has been set aside for such improvements. It does not involve new debt or additional taxes, township officials said.


