A fire truck, two police cars and a splash pad bridge are among the items being purchased with the help of savings in Sandy’s general fund.

The Sandy City Council approved carrying over its general savings from 2025 toward new and continuing projects, including the construction of a new community center, on Nov. 18.

“When it comes to the general fund, one of the reasons we do this is to curb the ‘use or lose it mentality’ with our general fund department, so that they are not rushing to spend all of their budget toward the last few months [of the fiscal year],” Administrative Services Director Brian Kelley told the council when presenting the carryover budget on Nov. 11.

The carryover funds in the 2025 fiscal year were “a little over a million dollars,” Kelley said. That is the second-lowest amount of savings over the last 10 years, with 2024 the lowest savings year in that period.

“That just shows you that our departments are operating more fully staffed because most of the savings come from vacancies in staffing,” he said.

Savings in any given year cannot be transferred over to cover operating expenses. And the funds usually go toward capital projects and equipment maintenance.

Public Works saved the most in 2025 at $374,119 and will reinvest $286,719 of that into capital projects. The fire department comes in second with $241,350 and will put $115k into buying new fleets.

Kelley believes one of the most significant achievements from this year’s carryover budget was allocating funds to purchase a tiller truck for the fire department. However, he added that it will take another three years before the truck is up and running.

Along with the fire truck, some savings were set aside to buy two unmarked police vehicles.

During the budget process for the 2026 fiscal year, a proposal from councilmembers Zach Robinson and Marci Houseman reduced funds toward purchasing a police leadership SUV by $120,000. The councilmembers, however, wanted to restore that funding, and $140,000 in carryover funds was allocated to buy police cars. Robinson said he appreciates those purchases being built into the carryover budget.

Some of the savings will also go toward building a new recreational facility.

Set to open in 2027, the tentatively named Sandy Community and Recreation Center will cost $23 million. The city allocated $15,825 from its carryover funds to repair a splash pad bridge for the remodeled recreation center.

Salt Lake County’s Tourism, Recreation, Culture and Convention program, along with the Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation, is helping the city fund the new community center. With their help, Sandy will be able to build the center without taking out any bonds or debt, Martin Jensen, Sandy City’s deputy chief administrative officer, said in November.

“That is a huge accomplishment as a city, and our residents should be proud of that because when we open this, we are going to open it debt-free, and it is going to benefit our residents’ lives immediately,” Jensen said.

Sandy demolished the Alta Canyon Sports Center in October to make way for the newly equipped community center, and the groundbreaking was held in early November.