City officials vote Tuesday on financing a new aerial truck and fire engine for $2.9 million. The trucks take almost four years to build and arrive in 2030.

Sandy Springs is set to borrow the money for two new fire trucks that will not arrive until 2030.

The mayor and City Council meet Tuesday as the city’s Public Facilities Authority. They will vote on a lease-purchase deal that finances a new aerial platform truck and a new fire engine for the Sandy Springs Fire Department. The financed amount is $2,915,000.

The details are in the authority’s agenda packet for Nov. 17, posted this week.

Overview

  • What: a vote on financing two Pierce fire trucks through the Public Facilities Authority, with the loan from PNC Bank.
  • When: 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, in the Studio Theatre at City Hall, 1 Galambos Way.
  • Cost: $2,915,000 financed, repaid in six yearly payments of $570,821.04 under the draft schedule.
  • Delivery: about 47 months from the order, so 2030.

What the city is buying

The City Council approved the purchase unanimously on Aug. 18. It agreed to buy the trucks through Ten-8 Fire & Safety at prices from a national cooperative contract. The Aug. 18 agenda packet and summary minutes give the price list:

Item Amount
Pierce custom mid-mount platform aerial $2,523,933
Pierce custom pumper with equipment $1,276,433
Purchase price for both $3,800,366
Prepay discount -$484,656
North End Consortium discount -$60,000
Trade-in of two older trucks -$340,710
Total $2,915,000

The new aerial replaces a front-line aerial truck that the department said has “ongoing maintenance concerns.” That truck is traded in. The new pumper replaces a front-line engine, which then moves to the reserve fleet. One reserve engine is also traded in.

Why it takes four years

Interim Fire Chief Jesse Bernard told the council in August that the trucks take about 47 months from order to delivery. His memo blamed “supply chain limitations.”

Council member Melody Kelley asked whether the trade-in trucks were still in use. Bernard said they are, and that the city will not hand them over until the new trucks arrive, the minutes say.

What it costs over time

The city routinely finances fire trucks, Bernard told the council. Paying through a loan let the city take the prepay discount from Pierce and spread about $3 million over several budgets, he said.

Under the deal on Tuesday’s agenda, the authority buys the trucks and leases them to the city. The city owns them once the payments are made. The lease runs to Dec. 31, 2032.

The draft payment schedule in the packet shows:

  • six yearly payments of $570,821.04, from October 2027 to October 2032
  • $2,915,000 in principal
  • $509,926.24 in interest, for a total of about $3.42 million

The August memo put the interest rate at 4.81% over six years. Bernard told the council he expected payments on trucks already on order to end before these payments start, so the two loans do not overlap.

Each year’s payment depends on the council budgeting the money. If it does not, the agreement lets the city stop paying, and it must then hand the trucks to the authority or the lender.

The fleet

The department runs eight pumpers and four aerial trucks across the city, the August memo says. It also keeps one aerial and three engines in reserve for when a front-line truck breaks down. Under the replacement plan the city adopted in 2018, front-line trucks generally move to reserve after 10 years.

The vote comes as the department prepares to move Fire Station No. 1 crews to a temporary station at 8615 Roswell Road while the 1968 Spalding Drive station is rebuilt.

What it means for you

  • No change to service now. The trucks being replaced stay on the road until 2030.
  • The money is already budgeted. The city’s fiscal 2027 budget covers the purchase, the August memo says, and the city attorney’s memo says the financing deal adds no new cost.
  • You can watch. The authority meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall. Its agenda has no public comment item.

The City Council’s own Nov. 17 agenda had not been posted by Saturday.

Frequently asked questions

When will Sandy Springs get its new fire trucks?

In 2030. The city ordered a Pierce aerial platform truck and a Pierce pumper in August 2026, and the fire department told the City Council the build and delivery time is 47 months.

How much do the new Sandy Springs fire trucks cost?

$2,915,000 after $544,656 in discounts and a $340,710 trade-in. The purchase price of the two trucks is $3,800,366. A draft payment schedule spreads the cost over six yearly payments of $570,821.04, about $3.42 million in all with interest.