The mayor of Rochester is turning in his city-issued sport utility vehicle and buying a smaller car he can take to ribbon-cuttings, parades and budget meetings.
Sheriff's deputies in six central Ohio villages are getting around on golf carts and a three-wheel scooter.
And in Austin, Texas, city employees are attending seminars to learn how to reduce fuel consumption, whether it means avoiding engine-idling or maintaining proper tire pressure.
States, counties and cities struggling to absorb $4-a-gallon gasoline at a time of widening budget problems are employing various energy-saving tactics: limiting the use of take-home work vehicles, converting to alternative-fuel cars and trucks and, in some cases, experimenting with a four-day work week.
A recent survey by the U.S. Conference of Mayors showed nearly a quarter of the nation's mayors have cut services this year to make up for higher fuel costs. Budget shortfalls this year range from $15.2 billion in the state of California to $24 million in this midsize city of 208,000 near Lake Ontario.
Federal, state and local government vehicles consumed 2.18 billion gallons of gasoline in 2006, according to the Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration.
Public works directors, parking-meter inspectors and fire officials are swapping gas guzzlers for a new generation of lighter, sleeker vehicles. In the nation's capital, where he once relied on a lumbering Lincoln Navigator, Mayor Adrian Fenty now drives a two-seat Smart car that gets 33 to 41 mph.
A former police chief in Rochester, Mayor Robert Duffy has always traveled without a bodyguard - “I'm an entourage of one” - but now he's giving up the city-issued SUV, too, and leasing a new GMC crossover of his own. It's a symbolic step in the city's effort to reduce its fleet of 667 passenger cars.
“It'll be easier for me to make decisions on other cars if I'm stepping away from mine,” Duffy said.
Rochester has already cut its passenger cars by 74 since 2007, and the mayor aims to remove up to 80 percent of the 174 vehicles assigned to employees around the clock.
“We're examining a number of hybrids and electric vehicles,” Duffy said. “If the city must provide a vehicle, it's going to be the most cost-effective, cost-efficient model possible.”
Despite the steps being taken, Rochester's projected fuel bill through next June will swell by $1.2 million to $5.2 million, up from $2.4 million when Duffy was elected as mayor three years ago.
“This is an expense the city can no longer afford,” Duffy said.
- Local governments from Birmingham, Ala., and Avondale, Ariz., to the state of Utah are cutting back on commuting by switching to a four-day workweek.
- In six villages in central Ohio, sheriff's deputies are getting around on two golf carts and a three-wheel, 100 miles-per-gallon scooter. Elsewhere in Fairfield County, Sheriff Dave Phalen is having officers park their patrol cars and walk the beat for 15 minutes every hour.
“It's got some very strong community aspects to it, beyond being very economical,” said Phalen, who expects to save at least $2,000 on monthly gas bills that have ballooned from $11,000 to $27,000 over the last year. “My budget's what it is and I have to make that work.”
- Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson is on target to eliminate 1,000 of the city's 5,400 public vehicles by year-end. While gas consumption is flat, this year's tab will probably hit $11 million - at least $4 million over budget, said Chief Operating Officer Darnell Brown.
- In addition to keeping fuel-saving driving techniques in mind, one-third of Austin's 300 front-line police cars now use an ethanol-gasoline blend that is currently 23 cents a gallon cheaper than regular gasoline, said interim Fleet Officer Jennifer Walls. Winnowing the 3,900-strong city fleet is next.
“You don't want underutilized vehicles whether you're in this situation or not,” Walls said.
On the Net:
City of Rochester: http://www.ci.rochester.ny.us
Conference of Mayors: http://www.usmayors.org
Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohim/hs06/index.htm
And in Austin, Texas, city employees are attending seminars to learn how to reduce fuel consumption, whether it means avoiding engine-idling or maintaining proper tire pressure.
States, counties and cities struggling to absorb $4-a-gallon gasoline at a time of widening budget problems are employing various energy-saving tactics: limiting the use of take-home work vehicles, converting to alternative-fuel cars and trucks and, in some cases, experimenting with a four-day work week.
A recent survey by the U.S. Conference of Mayors showed nearly a quarter of the nation's mayors have cut services this year to make up for higher fuel costs. Budget shortfalls this year range from $15.2 billion in the state of California to $24 million in this midsize city of 208,000 near Lake Ontario.
Federal, state and local government vehicles consumed 2.18 billion gallons of gasoline in 2006, according to the Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration.
Public works directors, parking-meter inspectors and fire officials are swapping gas guzzlers for a new generation of lighter, sleeker vehicles. In the nation's capital, where he once relied on a lumbering Lincoln Navigator, Mayor Adrian Fenty now drives a two-seat Smart car that gets 33 to 41 mph.
A former police chief in Rochester, Mayor Robert Duffy has always traveled without a bodyguard - “I'm an entourage of one” - but now he's giving up the city-issued SUV, too, and leasing a new GMC crossover of his own. It's a symbolic step in the city's effort to reduce its fleet of 667 passenger cars.
“It'll be easier for me to make decisions on other cars if I'm stepping away from mine,” Duffy said.
Rochester has already cut its passenger cars by 74 since 2007, and the mayor aims to remove up to 80 percent of the 174 vehicles assigned to employees around the clock.
“We're examining a number of hybrids and electric vehicles,” Duffy said. “If the city must provide a vehicle, it's going to be the most cost-effective, cost-efficient model possible.”
Despite the steps being taken, Rochester's projected fuel bill through next June will swell by $1.2 million to $5.2 million, up from $2.4 million when Duffy was elected as mayor three years ago.
“This is an expense the city can no longer afford,” Duffy said.
- Local governments from Birmingham, Ala., and Avondale, Ariz., to the state of Utah are cutting back on commuting by switching to a four-day workweek.
- In six villages in central Ohio, sheriff's deputies are getting around on two golf carts and a three-wheel, 100 miles-per-gallon scooter. Elsewhere in Fairfield County, Sheriff Dave Phalen is having officers park their patrol cars and walk the beat for 15 minutes every hour.
“It's got some very strong community aspects to it, beyond being very economical,” said Phalen, who expects to save at least $2,000 on monthly gas bills that have ballooned from $11,000 to $27,000 over the last year. “My budget's what it is and I have to make that work.”
- Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson is on target to eliminate 1,000 of the city's 5,400 public vehicles by year-end. While gas consumption is flat, this year's tab will probably hit $11 million - at least $4 million over budget, said Chief Operating Officer Darnell Brown.
- In addition to keeping fuel-saving driving techniques in mind, one-third of Austin's 300 front-line police cars now use an ethanol-gasoline blend that is currently 23 cents a gallon cheaper than regular gasoline, said interim Fleet Officer Jennifer Walls. Winnowing the 3,900-strong city fleet is next.
“You don't want underutilized vehicles whether you're in this situation or not,” Walls said.
On the Net:
City of Rochester: http://www.ci.rochester.ny.us
Conference of Mayors: http://www.usmayors.org
Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohim/hs06/index.htm
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