EXCELSIOR SPRINGS – The fire department is getting a new bush truck. The City Council approved Chief Joe Maddick’s request to buy a 2022 Ford F350 4-by-4 regular cab brush truck. As Maddick stated in a March memo to city leaders, the truck will replace the department’s 2006 GMC that was due to be replaced in 2022. The department opted to make the switch now because of transmission problems, he said. Maddick stated the purchase would come from public safety sales tax funds. The Public Safety Sales Tax Committee sanctioned paying up to $45,000 for the vehicle and gear, he wrote. The department is buying the vehicle, priced at $32,068, from Joe Machens Ford Lincoln in Columbia. The department is selling the GMC and other vehicles “to help offset the purchase,” Maddick stated.