Montville - The Board of Finance met Tuesday to review requests from the fire and police departments for new vehicles under the town's five-year capital improvement plan.

The 2013-18 proposed capital plan, at $13,594,036, includes $2,063,000 for the fire department and $185,000 for the police department.

The fire department is requesting $630,000 for the 2013-14 fiscal year to replace an M17 rescue truck. Although the truck only has 27,000 miles on it, it is 26 years old, and the expected life span for the trucks is approximately 20 to 25 years, according to Montville Volunteer Fire Department Chief Ronald Turner. The old truck would be sold in a town auction or traded in.

The fire department also hopes to replace two of its 1991 KME pumper trucks in the next five years. It has requested $630,000 in 2015-16 and $693,000 in 2017-18 for that purpose. Also included in the department's capital budget is $60,000 for new protective clothing and $50,000 for self-contained breathing apparatus cylinders.

The Board of Finance did not make any decisions Tuesday but did ask Turner if it would be "devastating" to wait a year or two to replace the M17 rescue truck.

"No, that's what we're accustomed to," Turner replied, noting that the truck was refurbished about 10 years ago.

The police department requested $105,000 in the 2013-14 capital budget for three new police vehicles. Four of the 20 current police cars have more than 100,000 miles on them, according to Sgt. Dennis Mathers of the Montville Police Department. He predicts that number will rise to seven cars if the department does not buy replacements this year.

Cars with more than 100,000 miles on them are starting to have transmission issues and rusting of the hydraulic lines, he said.

"Mileage is going to multiply rapidly if we have a lot of maintenance problems," said Mathers, because officers assigned to broken-down vehicles would be assigned to the newer cars. The department is trying to minimize use of their three 2011 cars to make them last longer.

Montville police currently use Ford Crown Victorias, but that model is no longer being manufactured. The department is considering the Ford Taurus, which is used by the Norwich Police Department, as a replacement. Each Taurus with a police package would cost $25,000, but the department would also need to purchase equipment such as cages and light bars that cannot be transferred from the Crown Victorias.

Sgt. Martin Martinez, Montville's resident state trooper, suggested the possibility of buying SUVs, as the Massachusetts State Police did recently. Those vehicles are more comfortable for some of the larger officers, Martinez said. Each SUV would be $27,000 and have similar equipment replacement costs to the Ford Taurus.

The police department is also requesting a total of $80,000 over three years to buy a new police boat for Gardner Lake.

k.catalfamo@theday.com