Government agencies eye options for fuel savings
Horses and bicycles are getting more use by the Placer County Sheriff’s Department as it looks at ways to lessen the fuel cost crunch at a time when county revenue is stagnant. But a spokesman for the department said that doesn’t mean its fleet of high-powered and high-fuel-consuming patrol cars will go into storage any time soon. The same goes for the department’s helicopter and patrol boats, said Lt. Jeff Ausnow. “We consume a lot of fuel but you have to weigh it out,” Ausnow said. The sheriff’s department has been cognizant of the need to conserve fuel to cut costs but has to balance those needs against public safety considerations, he said. “The balance tips toward the value of a human life,” Ausnow said. That doesn’t mean that sheriff’s employees can’t do little things like turn off engines instead of leave them idling, he said. Bike and foot patrols — even horse-mounted patrols — are also being encouraged, Ausnow added. Targeted patrols on horseback or bikes in areas in and around North Auburn’s Regional Park are one area where they’re already taking place. With a fleet of hundreds of vehicles for everything from road construction to social workers on a house call, the high cost of a gallon of gas is hitting Placer County hard. Earlier this month, the Board of Supervisors OK’d a revision in its budget to pay for a 20 percent increase in what has now become a multi-million-dollar gas bill. The county had signed a contract with a Sacramento gas and diesel supplier in May 2007 for $1.75 million. But with less than a month to go in the fiscal year, supervisors were asked by fleet manager Chuck Gordon for a change order to boost that amount by another $350,000, reflecting the jump in fuel costs. “It’s not enough,” Gordon said. Gordon said diesel has risen $2.29 a gallon over the past year while gas is up $1.20. In all, gas prices are up more than 35 percent from a year ago, he said. The Department of Public Works dipped into a reserve account and road fund to pay for the increases and keep its fleet fuelled. The fuel hike comes at a time the county is looking at actually reducing its operations budget year-over-year because of dropping revenue from several sources. The sheriff’s department has a fleet of 83 patrol carspatrolling about 1,000 miles of Placer roads. And fuel consumption doesn’t end with with four wheels for the sheriff’s department. With fuel-guzzling helicopters and high-powered motorboats on the water, Ausnow said that, again, it comes down to a question of safety. On the road, law enforcement could convert to lower-powered patrol cars than the current big-block V-8s. “But it’s hard to chase criminals down in a hybrid,” Ausnow said. The sheriff’s department also has military surplus Hummers — symbols these days of conspicuous gas consumption in the face of high prices. Ausnow said that the model the department has is a diesel and gets 16 to 17 miles per gallon — which is comparable to the 14 miles per gallon city and 18 miles per gallon highway that the current models get. But the Hummers aren’t used for patrol, he added. Instead, they serve as parade vehicles. The Journal’s Gus Thomson can be reached at gust@goldcountrymedia.com or comment at AuburnJournal.com.
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The Journal looks at how gas prices are affecting locals in a six-part series. Monday: How government agencies are weathering gas prices.Tuesday: How rising diesel prices are affecting costs at the supermarket.
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I sure hope that the powers that be, mainly all th department heads of each county department, look at the commutes that they are forcing people to make that are not wanting to do so...for instance.....it is not uncommon for a person working in Roseville to work in Auburn and visa versa. Just be shifting staff to work in their home town may help on many levels- gas, congestion, morale. I scoff at every 'spare the air' day that Placer County promotes!!
Wondering how much it costs to register, license and insure those "parade vehicles" and if that's really a 'necessity' at a time when all of us are forced to tighten our belts financially. Seems that the private sector is really the only group that is truly hurt by high fuel prices since WE pay for the government vehicles as well as our own (not to mention government salaries, benefits and perks that keep going up while the private sector workers are experiencing cuts in hours, wages and benefits).
Do you really need parade vehicles? Also, I understand that car makers claim the V8 is no longer needed as a pursuit car. The replacement is a V6 with a turbo that gets better mileage.
Also, as suggested by Twomanics: moving officers closer to their working district might be workable; I think some additional creative planning based targeted at saving fuel could yield further savings. Perhaps all departments should be involved in a countywide fuel savings program. These are economic hard times that call for conservation...let's all rise to the challenge!
The reality is that the high gas prices hit the rural communities like Meadow Vista, Weimar, Dutch Flat, Colfax, Grass Valley, Auburn, Nevada City, Cool, Georgetown, etc. the hardest. Because often times there ARE no bus routes in and out of those communities, people are FORCED to drive their vehicles just to go to the store for food. I try to limit my trips, share a ride to the store with family or friends, but it sure would be nice if I could have an electric vehcile that would be able to be driven from my home in Meadow Vista to anywhere in Auburn for my errands to the bank and such. The problem is that the low speed vehicles like the ZENN, ZAP! and GEM electric vehicles are only allowed on streets with 24 MPH speed limit or less. So it's great for people who lives in places like downtown Sac or Davis (where I work...and I see them everywhere)...but what about those of us that live farther out and don't have roads with speed limits that low to get us into town? We don't have any options, but to continue to drive our cars. Biking isn't even really an option since there aren't a lot of bike lanes or routes.
@abybabe_76:
Many people have decided to continue to drive what they have and wait out the introductions of the new electric drive plug in cars due in 2009-10 from the auto companies. There are a few things you can do: Increase your tire pressure to the max specified, get rid of any excess weight, including unused seats, tool boxes, etc. But, by far the best you can do is car pool with at least one other person for a 50% fuel savings.
I believe our energy future will be solar and renewable energy power plants and electric drive transportation. The problem standing in the way will be out of office next year and we should start to see major changes in the country's energy policy.
"Parade Vehicles"?????
WOW....certainly glad to hear MY tax dollars are being used to "Serve and Protect" the citizens of Placer County...what a JOKE!!!
The Placer County Board of Supervisors has been talking for months about what a dismal budget year lies ahead....cutting jobs, slashing Health and Human Service programs, cutting Countywide expenditures, freezing salaries, etc, etc, etc, and the Placer County Sheriff has the audacity to fuel up a Hummer so he can ride it around town in a flipping PARADE!
Either Lt. Ausnow needs to get some serious Public Affairs training about what and how to release information to the public, or Sheriff Ed Bonner has a serious problem with prioritizing how to spend Tax Payer dollars....hhhmmm, is this an Election Year?????
The natives are getting restless.
irritated, I hate to irritate you further but the Board of Supervisors will be putting a measure on the November ballot to allow pay raises for themselves, also they will be considering raises for the top County executives, some of whom have higher salaries than the Governor of California. The good old boy club at work in Placer County. The only time the County cries poverty is when labor contracts are being negotiated but when the big boys want more money they are awash in greenbacks.
As far as the Sheriff's Department is concerned ask them when was the last time they came in as budgeted and also why they didn't. Now we all know that we have not had a major crime wave in Polacer County, right? Parades, huh?parades do we have in Placer County every year? Wouldn't the mounted Deputies be enough. I know that the Humvees were govt. surplus and that they are exempt from licensing but what are the maintenance costs associated with them for the little use they get.
chunga, the natives have been restless for quite a while. But with the economy the way it is more and more people are becoming more vocal and Placer County is a dirty little place.