Official suggests all county vehicles limit speed to 45 mph

Three county departments are amending their budgets in order to make up for fuel cost overruns, prompting a county commissioner to propose requiring all county vehicles to operate at reduced speeds.

Fuel prices have increased, certainly, but even so, Commissioner Bobby Snellgrove notes that Houston County fuel consumption is up about 13 percent over last year.

“We still need to take some other measures to cut back on fuel consumption,” Snellgrove said during Thursday’s county administrative meeting. “My suggestion is to set a maximum speed on all county-owned vehicles.”

Snellgrove suggested setting that speed limit at 45 miles per hour. That restriction would not apply to sheriff’s department and emergency management agency vehicles on emergency calls.

“I have done this and increased my personal gas mileage by about two miles per gallon,” Snellgrove said. “We don’t have to drive the speed limit.”

In June, the sheriff’s department transferred $90,000 from various accounts to offset a shortage in the fuel budget. The department’s fleet includes several SUVs which don’t get good mileage, but they were free to the department.

Sheriff Andy Hughes said the department has about 80 vehicles, excluding jail vans. Five of those are full-size SUVs.

“One of our SUVs was paid for by Homeland Security. It had to be a four-wheel drive vehicle to respond to the nuclear plant and other areas in the buffer zone protection program. We have to have access to rural areas,” Hughes said.

The department also has a Ford Expedition it uses as a K-9 vehicle. It can transport three blood hounds and a prisoner. The department also has several Ford Explorers and two F-150 pick-up trucks, both purchased with Homeland Security funds.

Hughes drives a 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe.

“It was already in service when I got here,” he said. “I don’t see any sense in dumping it when it is still running good.

“Some vehicles have to be large enough to store equipment too,” he said. “Anytime you can buy a $35,000 vehicle with grant money, that money can buy a lot
of gas or something else needed in the department. So, it’s kind of a trade off.”

Hughes said some of the SUVs and trucks average 18 to 20 miles per gallon.

On Monday, budget transfers for fuel are being requested by the EMA ($888) and Road and Bridge ($50,000).

County Executive Officer Bill Dempsey said anyone driving a vehicle today is impacted by fuel costs.

“What we have been able to do is people are now able to – almost in real time – look at their budgets to see where the spending is. As costs are going up on fuel, they can look at their budgets and maybe if they were going to do a project they may not have to do, they may delay it until the next fiscal year.”

Road and Bridge is doing this by transferring some money set aside for right-of-way acquisition. The paving project is being postponed and those funds are being used for fuel. Dempsey said County Engineer Mark Pool is also looking closely to see how much fuel is being consumed and by whom.

“Most fuel tracking has been manual. We will automate the tracking primarily in Road and Bridge. That is where the fuel pumps are,” Dempsey said.

The costs of fuel will affect all budgets as officials adopt a 2009 budget going into the fall. Dempsey said it is something that will have to be adjusted.

“Because fuel is such an important part of performing our jobs, building roads and building bridges – we have a law enforcement department driven by fuel – we must make an assumption the fuel costs is this much. It is something we will have to constantly monitor.”

Dempsey said county department heads continue to meet to discuss the pros and cons of going to a 4-day work week, which could also save fuel.

“It is not finalized, but we are covering all the bases. Part of this involves feedback from the community,” he said.