That explains 2 of the vehicles. It still does not explain the ladder truck or the fire engine. > Diesel and miles on the truck are cheap, and peoples' time i

That explains 2 of the vehicles. It still does not explain the ladder truck or the fire engine. > Diesel and miles on the truck are cheap, and peoples' time is a sunk cost. Is a fair point. That ladder truck exists just in case an earthquake breaks the water lines and sprinklers stop working. I still do not see my city (or many others) as shining examples of efficiency. This does not mean I want to privatize things like fire departments and police as that would has its own issues, but neither do I think cities are so efficient that we should have them handle more things.