Local law enforcement making adjustments as soaring gas prices hurt their bottom line - Alabama's News Leader
Soaring prices at the gas pump are impacting everyone, including law enforcement agencies.
Some agencies told ABC 33/40 they've seen a dramatic increase in prices from their suppliers--making it important to adjust some of their funding and daily operations.
"It's blowing our fuel budget. It's already dang near double what it was. So it's killing us as it is," said Chilton County Sheriff, John Shearon.
Other departments are feeling similar pain.
"We have motor vehicles that run 24 hours, seven days a week to keep our community safe. So naturally, we are keeping a watchful eye on rising gas prices," explained Major Clay Hammac, Operations Commander at the Shelby County Sheriff's Office.
At the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, they're looking at reallocating funds to meet the costs for gas.
"We may reduce a little bit in our training budget compared to years prior to focusing on other areas to allocate to our fuel line expenses," he said.
Hammac said they've been lucky to have a county commission that's willing to help with contingency plans if reallocation doesn't take care of all the added costs.
In Chilton County, the sheriff's office is allotted $120,000 for fuel.
Sheriff Shearon said planning will be key, especially with inmate transports.
"If you've got to go to Jefferson County to pick up somebody, and you know you've got somebody else coming--we need to try to get as many of them as we can in one trip," he said.
The Oxford Police Department has already seen a two-dollar increase per gallon with their supplier.
"It wouldn't surprise me to see $5-$5.50 per gallon of gas here pretty soon," said Oxford Police Chief, Bill Partridge. The department is allotted $280,000 for the gas each fiscal year.
Now, the department is being even more conscious than usual about fuel use.
"Cutting corners like idle time for vehicles that don't have canines, unnecessary travel. Anything like that, that we can do to minimize costs," said Partridge.
If "cutting corners" doesn't cover the added costs, Partridge said they'll have to look a moving their budget around, or asking the county commission for further funding.
In Etowah County, the sheriff's office is on budget with their fuel usage, but they have implemented new policies regarding taking vehicles home.
"Not that we had issues, but we are restricting the use of take-home vehicles that we are still fortunate enough to have, to absolutely official use only," explained Sheriff Jonathon Horton. "It's certainly an item of concern to see fuel rocket the way it has and not know how long it's going to go on."
Horton added they've been able to replace much of their fleet in recent years, which he believes has helped them save money on gas. The Etowah County Sheriff's Office budgets for $230,000 in fuel expenses.
If prices continue to rise, he said they plan to send a letter to their supply reiterating the importance of the service they provide. "To make their suppliers aware of the necessity and about how many gallons a month, or a quarter that we depend on to provide adequate public safety to the community."
Although the threat to the budgets of these agencies is real, they all said there's no threat to their services. They will continue to patrol and answer calls as usual.
source: https://abc3340.com/news/local/local-law-enforcement-making-adjustments-as-soaring-gas-prices-hurt-their-bottom-line
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