County offices pinch pennies

Faced with outrageous prices, county officials have implemented a series of measures to cut costs, with some efforts saving big dollars and others appearing more symbolic.

Still, from offering employees alternative work schedules to setting thermostats higher and switching out police cruisers, county officials have made a host of small changes they hope will add up to big savings.

Cabinet members either carpool to meetings or hold them by videoconference instead. Employees use e-mail instead of couriers and more phone calls rather than face-to-face meetings. They are encouraged to switch off the overhead lights, open the blinds, and light their offices with sunshine.

"If we're going to a meeting, we'll all jump in one car," Central Services Officer Fred Schram said. "We use more teleconferencing. We're just trying to stay in the office more and stay out of the car."

Six months ago, the county halted a take-home policy for county owned cars, effectively removing 145 cars from staying overnight in employees' driveways. Those cars were logging about 1.3 million miles a year for the employees' commutes, and the change saved the county about $700,000 - seemingly the most effective cost-cutting measure so far.

"It basically averages out to about 8,000 gallons a month in savings," Mr. Schram said.

Despite the savings, the county overspent its fuel budget this year by $250,000. A year ago, officials didn't expect gas prices to jump to $4 a gallon, Mr. Schram said.

At the police department, the county has begun replacing Ford Crown Victoria cruisers with Chevrolet Impalas, which cost $1,800 less and go 7 miles further per gallon. And even County Executive John R. Leopold recently switched from a guzzling SUV to an Impala.

In a more symbolic gesture, the county police officers were asked last week to drive around without air-conditioning, not let their cruisers idle and try to get out of the car on more foot patrols to cut down on county gas costs.

The Fire Department, too, has a list of strategies to minimize gasoline use in a bad economy, said Battalion Chief Matthew Tobia, a department spokesman.

"If in a given day a station is conducting training, and fire-prevention inspections, and bringing food for meals, they are required to do all of those in one trip instead of doing each one individually and returning to the station after each trip is completed," Chief Tobia said.

Firefighters also must take the shortest travel paths on calls to minimize the amount of time vehicles are on county roadways, he said.

"And whenever we send numerous pieces (of equipment) to a large fire we shut down and turn of any apparatus that's not being used to actually fight the fire," he said.

To ease the fuel burden on employees, the county has offered the option for nine-hour or ten-hour work days, which cuts back on the number of days employees have to drive to work.

Mr. Schram estimated about 40 percent of the 200 employees in his department have opted for some version of an alternative schedule.

"We're really trying to reduce any kind of travel, if we can," he said.

Mr. Schram said county officials are investigating whether to inflate car tires with nitrogen, which takes longer to leak out of tires and therefore increases fuel efficiency.

On hot days, the county sets the thermostats higher and alternately shuts off some cooling systems in order to reduce the county's pull on the electrical grid. Employees are given a monthly newsletter of tips to cut energy costs, and are encouraged to switch off their computer monitors when not in use.