Government struggles with high gas prices

By AMANDA RICKER Chronicle Staff Writer

When the Bozeman landfill closes this month, city garbage trucks will be regularly making the 52-mile round-trip journey to Logan to drop off trash at the Gallatin County dump.

Last year, the fiscal impact of that long haul might not have been as bad. But with oil prices climbing into the $4-a-gallon range, the price residents pay to have their garbage picked up at the curb each week is likely to surge.

Bozeman’s Solid Waste Division will spend at least $250,000 more on fuel in the next fiscal year compared to last, said Superintendent Steve Johnson.

“That’s a serious impact for city garbage users,” he said.

Tonight, the Bozeman City Commission will consider raising garbage collection fees by 9 percent, effective July 1, and another 5 percent next year. After both increases, the cost to a resident with a 65-gallon tote would rise $24.50 a year, from $169.20 to $193.75. Fees were last increased in 2006.

The rising cost of garbage pickup is just one sign that rising gas prices are taking a big toll beyond the pump.

Government agencies that consume large amounts of fuel see monumental effects when fuel prices rise. Paying a few cents more per gallon of gas can mean thousands of dollars in added costs for constituents.

If gas prices increase by just 25 cents, the cost of running the Streamline buses, the Gallatin Valley’s only source of public transportation, rises by $6,000.

“Rising gas prices are a double-edged sword for us,” David Kack, chairman of Streamline’s Galavan Advisory Board, said.

The bus service has more riders as gas prices rise, but that doesn’t necessarily help pay for overhead costs since the service is free, funded by local and federal sources.

Streamline is already struggling to find $15,000 it needs to cover operations in the next year, Kack said.

If the cost of fuel continues to climb, some routes could be on the chopping block.

“If (the diesel price) goes to $4.75, we’ll say, ‘Holy Smokes!’ and need to find that money or cut services,” Kack said.

CITY’S BOTTOM LINE

Overall, the city of Bozeman will likely spend 15 percent more, an additional $450,000, on vehicle fuel next fiscal year than it did this year, said Finance Director Anna Rosenberry.

Broken down by department, the solid waste division will be hardest hit. Its fuel costs are expected to increase 45 percent. The fire department will see a 41 percent increase; police department 22 percent; and streets department 17 percent.

Every dollar counts. However, Rosenberry noted that vehicle fuel costs represent less than 1 percent of the city’s projected $80.6 million budget for the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1.

City workers are taking some small steps to save fuel that they hope will add up.

Drivers of city streets department trucks take fewer left-hand turns to reduce the amount of fuel they use. Reducing left-hand turns - without taking a ridiculously circuitous route - means the vehicles idle less while waiting for passing traffic.

The streets department, which is responsible for about 200 miles of city streets, took the anti-left-hand-turn cue from United Parcel Service, which uses computer software to calculate the optimum number of right-hand turns in its 100,000 routes.

“Everything, we think, adds up,” streets Superintendent John Van Delinder said. “We do what we can.”

Despite the fact that the department powers nearly its entire fleet with biodiesel, it’s still about 6 percent, or about $5,000, over budget in fuel costs this fiscal year, Van Delinder said.

As a whole, Bozeman spent 5 percent, or $20,000, more than it budgeted for fuel last fiscal year, Rosenberry said.

“We’ve been budgeting probably close to the $3s, not up into the $4s as we’ve been seeing,” City Manager Chris Kkulski said.

SCHOOL BUSES AND SHERIFF’S PATROLS

Bozeman schools are considering reducing the number of field trips students take to help keep fuel costs down, Assistant Superintendent Steve Johnson said. Fees students pay to participate in sports and other activities also will double next school year, from $30 to $60.

“Last year, it cost the school an extra $120,000” for bus fuel, Johnson said. “It was a pretty substantial increase.”

In Gallatin County departments, the sheriff’s office and road and bridge division don’t have money in their budgets for some basic items in part because of rising gas costs.

“It hurts,” Sheriff Jim Cashell said. “We’re about $70,000 in the hole just for fuel costs.”

The county sheriff’s office has about 50 vehicles that patrol 2,500 square miles.

Fewer roads are likely to be paved in the county, too, as a result of rising fuel costs, Lee Provance, superintendent of the road and bridge department, said. The department had to cut bookkeeping software, a new computer and other basic items from its budget next year to help cover the costs.

“Our fuel budget was about $100,000 in March of 2000 when I started here,” Provance said. “This year, we budgeted $420,000 and I think we’re going to spend more like $460,000.”

Amanda Ricker can be reached at aricker@dailychronicle.com or 582-2628.

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