TIMMINS - The city is driving ahead with buying new trucks and modifying garbage trucks.
A couple of weeks ago, the threat of tariffs paused the approval of two contracts worth more than $835,000. Timmins council gave the green light to the items this week, after the city manager got assurances from both proponents that the orders could be cancelled if "drastic tariffs" are imposed.
The approved contracts include a $389,920 deal with Gin-Cor Industries to modify two city-owned garbage trucks into snow plow/sanding trucks, and a $445,340 contract with Cambrian Ford Sales to buy four landscaping trucks.
Since the Feb. 4 meeting, manager of fleet and purchasing Gord Deacon talked to the bidders.
“We quickly discovered that this subject is very fluid. Almost every day there is some sort of wrinkle or possible change to the tariff discussion. We went from a possible tariff to the possibility of stacked tariffs. Everyone is unsure of where we’re headed,” he said.
Cambrian Ford told the city that the purchase can be cancelled without penalty if the U.S. imposes tariffs that lead to a significant price increase. Gin-Cor also confirmed that the city could walk away without penalty.
Coun. Andrew Marks would feel better if the condition is linked to a tariff percentage.
“It’s just the words of drastic and significant that worry me, that maybe our definition of what that is as a city council as to the person that would receive the tender might have different views on that,” he said.
The new trucks are at greatest risk of being impacted by tariffs.
The four vehicles are replacing two city-owned public works trucks that are at the end of life, and two rented public utilities trucks.
A 2022 tender for vehicles didn't solicit any submissions. When the vehicle market started to rebound recently, the tender was reissued.
The work to modify the two co-collection trucks will be done in Mattawa.
The changes are being made because the company that supplied the trucks went bankrupt. Deacon said that means the city can't get parts, service or warrant.
The co-collection bodies will be removed and sold in an online auction, giving Gin-Cor a bare cab/chassis to install the new bodies.
Gin-Cor told the city that most of its steel is sourced in Canada and the hydraulic cylinders are made in Ontario.
"As such, the company does not really expect any tariffs or surcharges to be applied, especially to orders entered in their systems prior to the implementation of any tariff/surcharge," reads the response in Deacon's report.