BANGOR – A high-tech emergency command vehicle intended for use in major emergencies is being offered by the state for local use, but Bangor officials are wondering if it’s more like a Trojan Horse, carrying hidden, unwanted costs.

“I could just picture that we could wake up one day with a $50 [thousand] to $60,000 maintenance bill on this thing,” Bangor City Councilor Richard Stone said earlier this week during a council finance committee meeting.

The committee forwarded tentative acceptance of the 41-foot long emergency vehicle – a mobile headquarters for use by Bangor and other communities during major emergencies such as a plane crash, forest fire or terrorist attack – to the full council, which meets on Monday.

The command vehicle proposed to be housed in Bangor – when additional equipment that the city’s fire and police departments are seeking is factored in – would have satellite phone capability, radio coverage across the spectrum band and the ability to interface digital with analog communications.

The idea is to give those in the command vehicle easy access to speak to local, county, state and federal emergency personnel, city officials said.

The back of the vehicle is what Lt. Thomas Higgins of the Bangor Fire Department described as the heart of the command center – a conference area and 40-inch LCD screen with a smart board that will allow emergency personnel to map out actions. A 20-foot telescoping tower on top of the vehicle helps to provide a bird’s-eye view from inside.

The vehicle will have space for four dispatchers, computers and other equipment. A generator and facilities allow it to be manned for up to 72 hours continuously, Higgins said.

The Maine Emergency Management Agency is providing four of these vehicles to be placed strategically across the state as part of federal Homeland Security funding.

The vehicles, each costing $331,500, are planned for locations in York and Androscoggin counties, for the Maine State Police in Augusta, and for Bangor.

Smaller versions are expected to be rolled out in Presque Isle and Machias.

With many details still to be hammered out – including procedures for who could use the vehicle and who would pay for repairs from unexpected damage or if it’s lost – finance committee members were reluctant to fully endorse it this week.

Earlier this week, city officials weren’t even sure whether the vehicle would be owned by the city or the state.

City Manager Edward Barrett said Friday that the city since has learned that the state will own the vehicle and provide it to the region.

Bangor may be liable for routine maintenance, but issues such as insurance coverage and who can use it still have to be settled.

Councilor Geoffrey Gratwick wanted more details about the expected costs of operating the vehicle and urged city officials to check the factory that makes them for repair and maintenance histories.

The command vehicle could be used in incidents where multiple agencies are involved, from searching for a missing hunter, to covering a significant forest fire, to handling a hostage situation on an airplane at Bangor International Airport or other incidents, Bangor Police Chief Don Winslow told committee members.

Agreeing that additional information is needed, Winslow also cautioned that too much delay could give other agencies in the area a chance to move in on the chance.

“If we chose not to house it, there may be other entities in the area that would be all over it,” Winslow said, describing the vehicle as “a great opportunity for the city.”

Although it would be housed in Bangor, the command center vehicle would be available to other communities that have people who have been trained and who meet standards set by MEMA.

Such standards and protocols have not yet been set, city officials said.

With issues still unresolved, Bangor city councilors will be asked on Monday for tentative approval for the command vehicle, including an additional $43,759 for the equipment the fire and police departments said they need.

The council’s approval would be conditional upon reaching a memorandum of understanding with MEMA.

No such conditional approval is being attached to $226,520 in federal funding that councilors will be asked to approve for other equipment and training. The city’s approval is part of the funding process for the federal funds.

Among the items being funded are:

. $53,750 for installing emergency generators in three Bangor schools that would serve as emergency shelters

. $41,770 to purchase expanded hydraulic extrication equipment that would be used in large-scale incidents such as a building collapsing.

. $19,600 to purchase a fiber optic scope for the Bangor bomb squad to help in the search for explosives and for inspecting the inside of objects to determine whether they contain explosives.