The Slatington Fire Department is running in the red, according to borough manager Duane Dellecker.

"Their revenue is $78,000 and their expenses are $78,000. They are expected to go over budget this year," Dellecker told the council."Some of the things were one-time expenses," councilman Bryon Reed said. The department purchased tires for the trucks and a new light bar."I told them they have to tighten up. If they want new gear they have to run fundraisers," councilman Jon Rinker said."In the '70s we had three departments and less gear. If they want new gear they have to pitch in. You have bad tires and normal maintenance, but it's the other stuff. Everyone knows we had horrible equipment. If they want the best of the best, they have to help out," Rinker said.At present day the fire force count is 35 firefighters and five fire police with a cost of roughly $3,000 to outfit one firefighter from jacket to boots."We go after grants for items like that," Fire Department Chief Keith B. Weaver said. "We are always looking to improve what we have to keep our guys and residents safe."The department has very little room in the budget for new gear, according to Weaver, who said bigger ticket items tend to be paid for with grants."What we need this year is a new wet-rescue truck. It would do the job of two trucks. We currently have three 20-year-old trucks and two 23-year-old engines," the chief said.The department is working on paying the balance for the 2013 KME special operations truck."The new truck's cost would be split between the borough and the department; we are trying to get some specs together."The department also needs to replace old hose."We do a lot of extra work to get grants to help relieve some pressure from the borough," Weaver said.In addition to the FEMA funding, the department added two events to gather cash, a wing night at the Vigilant hall in January and two flea markets in the spring at the Northern Lehigh Pool to make up for the loss of the carnival."We had to cancel the carnival. It just wasn't bringing in profits anymore," Weaver said."Right now it's hard to tell what's going where. It would be nice if people who donated money could see where it goes, like a breakdown," Wechsler said."Especially when it's public funds," council President Gwyneth Jones said.Councilman Joe Wechsler suggested saving money by doing vehicle maintenance in-house."Years ago they used to change their own oil and it saved money," Wechsler said."The chief engineer is a good guy but doesn't do any maintenance, like the two batteries that went bad. Things have to be maintained and looked at," Rinker said."Could oil changes be done in-house?" Wechsler asked."We used to do it. We could if there was more time," said Bob Herzog, the borough's chief mechanic.