Gas prices has county rethinking its budget

How high can they go?

This is what motorists and government officials are wondering as the price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline jumped to $3.55 on Thursday from $3.49 the night before.

By Friday morning, the price jumped four more cents to $3.59 a gallon.

The higher prices have government officials reviewing their annual budgets to determine if there are enough funds to carry them over to the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

"We are not going to have sufficient funds to make it through to the end of the fiscal year" for the larger departments such as the sheriff's department and public works, said Xavier Villarreal, budget officer for Cameron County.

"It's pretty difficult because it doesn't show any signs of going down or stabilizing ... You hear that by the end of summer we are going to be at $4."

The county has 382 vehicles that use regular unleaded gas and 62 that use diesel fuel.

The county will have a mid-year review of its budget on May 20 in which Villarreal will discuss the rising fuel costs and how they are affecting the county's budget. When Villarreal worked on the budget for the current fiscal year, gas prices were about $3 a gallon.

"This wasn't out there last year that by next year we are going to be at $4," Villarreal said.

The price of a barrel of oil hit a new record Thursday at $124.57. Some analysts are predicting a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline will sell for $3.73 by next month or possibly sooner.

Villarreal said the county was in a similar predicament about two years ago when gasoline prices rose more than $2. To offset the costs, only certain employees were allowed to take county vehicles home and they were to remain park when not used for work purposes.

Although the county experienced some savings, it was harder for the larger fuel users, such as the sheriff's department and public works department, because these vehicles are in constant use, Villarreal said.

County Judge Carlos H. Cascos said one thing the county will not do is cut down on police patrols because of the rising fuel costs.

"We will not stop patrols," Cascos said, adding that county may have to stop paving some county-owned roads for a month or two to make up the difference.

If the larger departments run out of money budgeted for fuel before October, the county will seek funding by cutting line items or using lapse salaries to make up the cost. Line items are goods such as office supplies or equipment used by individual departments.

Cameron County fuel costs:

March 2007

$2.23 a gallon of unleaded gasoline

$2 for heavy diesel using vehicles

$2.30 for regular diesel vehicles

March 2008

$2.63 a gallon of unleaded gasoline

$3 for heavy diesel using vehicle

$2.75 for regular diesel vehicles

Source: Cameron County Budget office