GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic Yakima Police Department officers Tim Cruz, left, and Joel Hansen load their gear into a patrol car as they start their work shift on July 3, 2008. On some days, YPD officers are riding two to a car in a effort to save gas. When riding alone, officers usually put their gear on the front seat but when two officers share a car, they've got to stow their gear in the trunk, explained Cruz. Links   E-mail             Print              Comments (1) Advertisement

They were wrong.

With gas prices now topping $4.25 a gallon, city leaders believe they'll be at least $100,000 short. There's no way for the department to save that much money, Capt. Jeff Schneider said. Instead, reserves must be spent to fund the deficit.

"When people call the police, they expect us to show up," he said. "They don't care how much gas costs."

Police departments throughout the nation are struggling to find ways to cope with higher gas prices. Most are reviewing ways to cut costs, from requiring officers to walk their beats to limiting cruise patrols to crime-ridden and highly populated areas. In Holly Springs, Ga., police officers are even adding fuel surcharges to speeding tickets.

But other departments -- such as the Washington State Patrol -- refuse to consider changes that could affect the public's safety. Money may be short, some argue, but more will have to come from somewhere.

"We are not going to change the service provided to the public," said Lt. Jim Keightley of the state patrol. "That's our mission and we're going to accomplish our mission."

Many cost-saving methods are impractical in most parts of Yakima County, Schneider said.

Coverage areas can't be reduced because emergency response times would increase. Walking patrols wouldn't work because they'd slow down officers. And bicycles and hybrid cars aren't feasible because they wouldn't last.

"We would like to look at more fuel-efficient cars for the future, but police-type vehicles are pretty limited," Schneider said. "There's not much out there. If a car isn't heavy-duty, it will fall apart after a year."

The Yakima Police Department employs 137 commissioned officers, 80 of whom are assigned to patrol, Schneider said. His officers burn through 7,000 gallons of fuel a month, and even though the department buys its gas in bulk to save money, it still pays about $4.23 per gallon at current prices after administrative costs are tabulated. Similar costs were reported elsewhere in the county.

One savings strategy that's being used more often is putting as many as three, two-person cars on the road, Schneider said. This conserves fuel, but also results in fewer cars being available to respond to nonemergency calls.

"If a house is burglarized, you could wait an hour or two to get a policeman out to the home," he said. "It's an annoyance more than anything else."

Yakima isn't alone in forecasting a shortfall. The Washington State Patrol needs an extra $1.46 million for gas. Sunnyside had spent more than half of its $145,000 fuel budget by the end of May; at the same time, the Selah Police Department had spent about 60 percent of its $37,500 fuel budget.

The Yakima County Sheriff's Office predicted oil prices would exceed $100 a barrel and planned accordingly, but oil now goes for more than $145 a gallon. The department will have to dip into a flexible spending fund if gas prices jump to $5 or more a gallon, county officials said.

The last time the Legislature underfunded the Washington State Patrol's budget, his department postponed replacing vehicles, Keightley said.

Officers are now driving cars with 110,000 to 130,000 miles on them, which is high for department standards. This time around, Keightley said, the Legislature will need to dip into its reserves.

Other police officials anticipate making cuts, such as eliminating "aimless patrols."

"Our patrols have to be more planned out," said Dan Garcia, undersheriff with the Yakima County Sheriff's Office. "You try to hit the general areas where the most people live and, of course, the roads that have a history of problems."

Throughout the Yakima Valley, officers are being asked to eliminate idling and to park their cars where there's the most traffic. But this can only be done on a limited basis, Garcia said.

"We can't tell guys just to sit and not drive their cars," he said. "We have calls to answer. We have to show people we're working, show criminals we're out there."

Other options are being reviewed in Selah. Lt. Stacy Dwarshuis said there's a possibility of discontinuing a program allowing officers to take their vehicles home at night -- a move expected to save $800 a month in fuel.

"It's good and it's bad,"
Dwarshuis said. "It reduces the presence of law enforce-ment to and from work and in the community in which they live. ... It would be bad for morale."

Another option is to require officers to do walking patrols for 15 minutes of each hour, enabling them to talk with business owners and conduct radar surveillance of traffic.

"There's no easy fix," Dwarshuis said. "Obviously, we don't want to cut any services, nor just general patrol. I believe we can come up with something."

* Erin Snelgrove can be reached at 577-7684 or esnelgrove@yakimaherald.com.