At least the money is going to something useful. They could blow it on a truck that's reserved solely for counterterrorism (and hope that they got the right truck for that kind of terror...) and sits around rusting and doing nothing, or on a bunch of mark 1 kits that expire and have to be replaced. At least this way, active emergency personnel are getting to use the stuff and become familiar with it, since, like in New York City, they're the ones who end up on the front lines taking care of the damage.
It is hard to figure out how to get the engines running in a truck at a moment's notice. How do you know which way to turn the key? It takes a lot of training, certification and high union wages to get someone to do that.