Even though the city installed vehicle locators on 1,300 ambulances and fire trucks three years ago, consultants who worked on the GPS system are still getting paid more than $3.5 million per year. Daily News columnist Juan Gonzalez blasts the city for paying Hewlett Packard consultants up to $410,217 annually to tweak a system that's already in place, as it threatens to close fire houses and layoff firefighters due to possible state budget cuts. He argues the money would be better on FDNY operations, considering it only costs $1.5 million annually to fund a fire company of 29 firefighters and four officers. An FDNY spokesman said the consultants still provide needed upgrades and enhancements to a system that has "reduced response times across the city."