DAYTON — As we all pay more to fill up our tanks, many are thinking of how to save money in other ways, and that is no different for cities as they plan their budget around rising costs.
Cities like Dayton and Centerville cannot go without their police cruisers, firetrucks, trash trucks, and more.
“We still have to do the services that provide the quality of life,” Fred Stovall, Dayton’s Public Works Director, said.
Wayne Davis, Centerville City Manager, said everyone is concerned about the surging fuel prices and that everyone is looking for savings now.
Overall, Centerville has 80 city vehicle on the road and the city budgeted about $300,000 for fuel in 2022.
“What we can do is look for ways to improve our bottom line,” Davis said.
Centerville has its own trash department with fully automated trucks and are looking for the most efficient routes possible.
In Dayton, officials budgeted about $2 million for their 2022 fuel budget, but with a 15 percent increase in price in the last 14 days, on top of a 31 percent increase in the last year, everyone is looking for help.
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Dayton has hundreds of vehicles in the city fleet across all departments. 40 of the vehicles are trash trucks and 15 of them are new models that use compressed natural gas for fuel.
“Compressed natural gas is significantly lower that diesel, more to our advantage today than diesel,” Stovall said.
City leaders say if fuel prices stay this high, they may have to go back and adjust some budgets.