DOWAGIAC — The Dowagiac Fire Department will soon be adding a new truck to its fleet.

Monday evening, the Dowagiac City Council passed a resolution to authorize the purchase of new fire truck and recommended equipment in the amount of $352,000 to replace an existing engine.

“In some ways this makes Dowagiac unique, as it is unusual for communities to set aside funds month after month, year after year, to finance these purchases rather than having to go out and bond for them,” said Mayor Don Lyons at Monday’s meeting. “Not only do we receive interest on the money that we invest, we don’t have to pay interest on the money we spend on our fire truck, so it is the recommendation of the administration that we pay the $352,000 for the fire truck and the appropriate equipment.”

The resolution was passed unanimously by the city council.

At Monday’s meeting, Councilmember James Dodd said the Dowagiac Fire Department did a lot of the leg work to procure the fire truck and thanked the department for working hard on the matter.

“We need to pat our firefighters on the back for the work they did getting this fire truck. They spent a lot of hours, a lot of candlelight,” he said. “They could have gotten a more expensive truck, but they got a basic truck that will last for another 25 years.”

Also Monday:

• Dowagiac resident Patty Patano spoke during public comments urging Dowagiac to support a millage proposal for the Dowagiac District Library, which will appear on the November ballot. The proposal, which failed on the August ballot, is seeking a $7.4 million bond over 20 years for the expansion and renovation of the library building.

“I think this is extremely important,” Patano said. “Libraries are important places of learning in the community and they have become so much more in the digital age. They are a place people can go if they need access to the internet, if they need to look for jobs, or just to read for pleasure. Children need a place they can be exposed to books. Libraries offer a service you can’t get anywhere else in the community.”

Councilmember Charles Burling thanked Patano for her comments during Monday’s meeting.

“I’m 100 percent behind the addition to the library,” he said. “I’m very much a product of visiting that library when I was younger, and we should pass that opportunity on to other young people.”

• The council approved a resolution to authorize budget amendments for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, and a resolution to amend and establish a Class and Compensation schedule for the fiscal year beginning Oct.  1.