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PR26-0587 • 2025

Proposed Contract No. CW128791 with HME, Inc. Disapproval Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2026

Proposed Contract No. CW128791 with HME, Inc. Disapproval Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2026

Budget Healthcare
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Pinto
Last action
2026-04-17
Official status
Approved
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official text does not provide details on what happens next after disapproving the contract or if FEMS can purchase fire engines later.

Disapprove a Fire Truck Purchase

This resolution stops the District of Columbia from buying up to 18 fire engines (pumpers) from HME, Inc., due to concerns about budgeting and planning.

What This Bill Does

  • The Mayor proposed purchasing up to 18 pumpers for $32.5 million from HME, Inc.
  • Council members are concerned that this purchase might cause future budget issues and does not align with best practices as outlined in a BDA Global report.
  • This resolution declares an emergency situation to disapprove the contract before it is automatically approved.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department (FEMS) of Washington, D.C.
  • HME, Inc., a company that makes fire trucks
  • Taxpayers who fund the District's budget

Terms To Know

Emergency Declaration Resolution
A special kind of law made quickly to deal with urgent problems.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The resolution only stops this specific purchase and does not address other rules about buying equipment for the Fire Department.
  • It is unclear what will happen to the money meant for these new fire engines or if FEMS can buy them later.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-17 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Resolution R26-0377, Effective from Mar 31, 2026 Published in DC Register Vol 73 and Page 006086

  2. 2026-03-31 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Retained by the Council

  3. 2026-03-31 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Legislative Meeting

  4. 2026-03-31 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Approved with Resolution Number R26-0377

  5. 2026-03-30 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    PR26-0587 Introduced by Councilmember Pinto at Office of the Secretary

Official Summary Text

Proposed Contract No. CW128791 with HME, Inc. Disapproval Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2026

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
ENROLLED ORIGINAL

1

A RESOLUTION

26-377

IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

March 31, 2026

To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to disapprove proposed
contract No. CW128791 with HME, Inc. to provide a minimum of one and a maximum
of 24 pumpers for the Apparatus Division of the Fire and Emergency Medical Services
Department.

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the “Proposed Contract No. CW128791 with HME, Inc. Disapproval
Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2026”.

Sec. 2. (a) On March 17, 2026, the Mayor transmitted proposed definitive Contract No.
CW128791 with HME, Inc. (CA26-646) in the not-to-exceed amount of $32,502,456 to provide
18 pumpers for the Apparatus Division of the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department
(“FEMS”).
(b) This contract would be the first contract that FEMS has held with HME, Inc. Due to
the contracting structure for many fire departments nationwide, this contract was decided upon
via a cooperative agreement, not a traditional bid system. While the cooperative agreement
model is effective for efficient ordering timelines, FEMS should use caution when making
purchases from manufacturers for the first time and avoid bulk orders from vendors that are new
to the District.
(c) In fact, the BDA Global report from 2020, which analyzed the current operations of
the Apparatus Division, made it clear that bulk orders such as this order of 18 pumpers from
HME, Inc., are not best practice. The report states that “[d]elays in apparatus procurement can be
so lengthy that they can result in multi-year impacts. That includes years when the Department
does not receive enough new apparatus followed by years when the Department receives too
much new apparatus. The latter situation causes many, if not more, problems than the former.
When too much new apparatus is received, a ‘bubble’ is created which results in too much
apparatus moving into reserve status, and then too much apparatus needing to be replaced at one
time when the newly acquired units reach the end of their service life. This creates strains on the
budget. The far better option is to ensure that apparatus moves steadily through its lifecycle in
even and predictable numbers – this makes budgeting, apparatus preparation, and apparatus
maintenance considerably easier to do.”
ENROLLED ORIGINAL

2

(d) The Executive has failed to provide sufficient reasoning as to why FEMS needed to
make a bulk order of 18 pumpers from a manufacturer who they have never worked with.
(e) Emergency legislation is necessary to act on this contract because it will be deemed
approved on March 28. 2026.

Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances
enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the
Proposed Contract with HME, Inc. Emergency Disapproval Resolution of 2026 be adopted on an
emergency basis.

Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.