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Tampa, Hillsborough Try To Curb Their Rising Fuel Bills

Tribune photo by CLIFF McBRIDE

Tampa officials estimate the city will spend about $5.1 million for gas this year.

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By ELLEN GEDALIUS and MIKE SALINERO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 16, 2008

TAMPA - As gas prices continue to climb, local governments are considering new ways to conserve fuel, from buying biodiesel to limiting how long an employee can let a car idle.

The city and county spend millions on fuel every year. For the city, a 1 cent increase in the price of gas has a $26,000 impact.

As gas and diesel prices escalate, government officials are having to tap reserve and other accounts to help cover the cost of fuel. In some cases, taxpayers could help foot the government's gas bill in the form of higher wastewater and solid waste rates.

County Fleet Management Director Sharon Subadan urged county employees in May to conserve fuel by avoiding unnecessary engine idling, keeping tires properly inflated and accelerating slowly.

The city also is crafting an anti-idling policy. No one operating a city vehicle should let the engine idle for more than three minutes in any 60-minute period, according to a draft of the policy.

"Some of these things will be difficult to enforce, but if we have it out there, at least they'll be aware," said Tim Perry, the city's fleet manager.

The city also is exploring whether electric vehicles can be used in some cases, such as for park maintenance or at the water treatment plant.

Mayor Pam Iorio said she has directed her staff to stop buying sedans and light trucks unless they get 30 miles per gallon or more. "Let's not focus just on hybrids. Let's focus on gas mileage," she said.

The city also plans to buy some biodiesel fuel, not only for environmental reasons but because it can be as much as 20 cents a gallon cheaper than low-sulfur diesel.

Tampa Finance Director Bonnie Wise estimates the city will spend about $5.1 million for gas this year. That's a 130 percent increase over the $2.2 million spent in 2003.

In Hillsborough County, with eight times as much land to cover as the city, officials will have to transfer $2.5 million out of reserves to cover projected fuel costs for the remaining 31/2 months of the fiscal year.

If county commissioners approve the transfer Tuesday, the county's fuel budget for fiscal year 2008 will total $8.5 million. That's a 200 percent increase over the county's gasoline and diesel fuel costs just five years ago.

"We factored in modest increases when we did our budget, but nowhere near what we're spending today," said Debbie Benavidiz, the county's Fleet Management Department fiscal manager.

Tampa estimates that in 2003 the average price for a gallon of unleaded gas was $1.28. This year's average is projected at $3.24.

The city expects to purchase about 550,000 gallons of unleaded fuel this year and 920,000 gallons of diesel. The police department expects to purchase an additional 1.2 million gallons of gas.

The solid waste, wastewater, stormwater and water departments are particularly hard hit by the high cost of fuel, budget director Jim Stefan said.

The solid waste department spent $1.5 million on fuel in fiscal year 2007. During the first seven months of fiscal year 2008, the department spent $1.3 million, said Robert Blanco, an accountant in the solid waste department. He estimates the department will spend $2.3 million by the end of the year.

Iorio said last week that the high cost of fuel for garbage trucks is part of the reason trash rates likely will need to be raised next year.

Fuel prices are a thin slice of the county's total $3.87 billion budget pie. But the effect of surging gas prices is magnified when accompanied by lower sales tax collections and property tax cuts approved by voters in November.

"It's not something where we're going to stop running fire engines because of high diesel prices," said county Management and Budget Director Eric Johnson. "But it's certainly not a cost we need to be incurring when we're trying to deal with tax reform and the other implications of the current economic environment."

Reporter Ellen Gedalius can be reached at (813) 259-7679 or egedalius@tampatrib.com. Reporter Mike Salinero can be reached at (813) 259-8303 or msalinero@tampatrib.com.

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