The city of Indianapolis is trying to cope with the rising price of gasoline. Marc Lotter, spokesman for Mayor Greg Ballard says police patrols, snowplow drivers and pothole crews will not be cut back because of expensive gas prices.
Lotter says each city agency has been ordered to find an additional 5% of budgets to hold back for the skyrocketing cost to fill-up.
“This is one of the reasons,” he says, “why the mayor’s office and the controller’s office have gone to each city agency and said, ‘we need you to find an additional 5% of your budget to hold back.”
Another cost savings measure is the “no idling” policy. It requires city vehicles to be turned off when in park to prevent unnecessarily burning gas.
“If there are sitting waiting to do some work,” he says, “they shouldn’t have their vehicle idleing. We’ve also gotten grants from the US Department of Energy to help upgrade our fleet…to hybrid vehicles.”
Lotter also says several employees are now driving their own vehicles home at the end of the day. Take home vehicles are limited to employees who work in public safety.
