‘‘I’m also seeing people downsize their vehicles. In the past they may have made home visits in a [sport utility vehicle], and now they are making those visits in a Ford Focus,” Baker said. ‘‘We are trying to cut costs and be more efficient, but people seem to be understanding of that.”
Then there’s Frank Carroll, who spends $75 to fill the tank of his older-model Mercury Grand Marquis, which gets about 17 miles a gallon.
He drives roughly 10 miles through Chevy Chase delivering food as part of the Meals on Wheels program. And he drives another four miles from his home to Temple Emanuel on Connecticut Avenue, where volunteers pick up meals to deliver to elderly and disabled clients.
A gallon of unleaded cost $2.01 when Carroll began working for the charity four years ago. Now, he’s paying $4.05.
‘‘From what I’ve heard no one has complained or stopped because of the gas prices,” he said. ‘‘We just prioritize our lives and put this first. It’s important to feed the hungry. It’s that simple.”
No easy solutions
Counties big and small are feeling the pinch. In Prince George’s, the state’s second-largest county, its leaders have taken their older gas-guzzlers off the road to save money. And in Garrett, with its population of 31,000, the county’s fuel budget increased dramatically for fiscal 2009, thanks largely to the 850 miles of roads that have to be crossed by county workers delivering services.
Anne Arundel has tackled its fuel costs from the top down.
County Executive John R. Leopold (R) traded in his county-issued SUV for a more fuel-efficient Chevrolet Impala. The county also eliminated take-home vehicles for county employees, which has saved more than $700,000 since January, said spokeswoman Audra Harrison.
On Tuesday, Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) announced plans to replace the Maryland Transit Administration’s 650-bus fleet with hybrids, contingent on state funding, that cost more upfront but require less maintenance and use less fuel.
Gas prices have affected public safety, volunteer services and education. The Montgomery school board, for example, gave its superintendent the authority to extend the distance that students have to walk before being eligible for a school bus ride.
The school system — the state’s largest — is projected to spend $7.9 million on fuel this year, and has asked for an additional $5.68 million. Last year, the system overspent its fuel budget by almost $3 million.
The State Highway Administration’s 3,700-vehicle fleet used roughly 2.4 million gallons of gas last year, less than the previous year’s total of roughly 2.5 million gallons, partly due to a mild winter. The agency also exceeded its $6.9 million fuel budget by $920,000.
SHA has been eyeing ways to save, including not leaving vehicles idling, buying more fuel-efficient vehicles and carpooling employees to meeting sites, said spokesman David E. Buck.
But conservation isn’t always possible.
‘‘Just as we can’t stop plowing and salting, we can’t pull our trucks to the side of the roads and not respond to emergencies and stop filling potholes,” Buck said.
In Garrett County, its Board of Public Works expects to spend $812,000 for fuel this year, up 35 percent — or $212,000 — from last year. The problem, said county administrator Monty Pagenhardt, is that Garrett has more miles of county roads than any other jurisdiction in the state, and much of the work goes toward snow removal.
In Prince George’s, the county pays $4.21 a gallon for diesel and $3.82 a gallon for unleaded in its 3,310 vehicles. And to save money, the county has taken 91 of its older sedans off the road and increased the number of hybrids to 15, said James P. Keary, a spokesman for County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D).
In Montgomery, the contracted price of a gallon of unleaded is $3.78. Diesel, used in heavy vehicles, such as Ride On buses, construction vehicles and school buses, is locked in at $4.27 a gallon. To save money, the county has purchased fuel-saving and hybrid vehicles. The county’s cost for a gallon of biodiesel is $4.32.
Baltimore County originally projected $7.1 million for fuel last year, but had to ask its County Council for an extra $2 million. This year’s budget is set at $9.9 million, based on a projected $2.88 a gallon for unleaded.
‘‘If we go over budget, we will constrain other expenditures and make necessary budget transfers ... we would have to assess the situation at the time and determine where best to make adjustments,” Baltimore County spokeswoman Ellen Kobler said in an e-mail.
Cutting back on mileage
The Maryland State Police adopted a policy 18 months ago restricting troopers’ off-duty use of their vehicles to within 25 miles of their homes. It also aims to have troopers stationed near their homes. Both measures helped the agency stay within its budget, despite spending more on fuel.
‘‘We make sure that if a trooper is working at an Eastern Shore barrack that that trooper lives on the Eastern Shore,” said spokeswoman Elena Russo. ‘‘We’re not going to send someone to the Eastern Shore who lives in Western Maryland.”
The state police department has also curtailed the number of community events where its helicopter is on display.
Calvert County Sheriff Mike Evans last year increased foot patrols and shut cruisers off at least 15 minutes per hour.
‘‘As far as I’m concerned, we make such good use of our guys driving our cars off duty in the county,” said Evans, whose deputies logged almost 1.6 million miles last year. ‘‘We have such high visibility in a small county. They are deterring crime when they’re out there.”
Despite his efforts, Evans had to ask county commissioners for an extra $120,000 for gas and budgeted more money this year in anticipation of higher fuel prices.
Charles County Sheriff Rex W. Coffey distributed a list of gas-saving tips, which includes avoiding rapid acceleration and abrupt braking.
In November, Coffey added Chevrolet Impalas to the fleet of police-standard Ford Crown Victorias. He said that would amount to an initial savings of $3,000 per vehicle and greater fuel efficiency of up to 5.5 miles per gallon more than the Crown Vic.
