By JEFFERSON WEAVER
Staff Writer

As local governments get deeper into budget time, fuel costs are worrying town and city officials.

“You don’t know what’s going to happen next,” said Joshua Ray, city manager for Whiteville. “We expected a drop after the Easter travel season, but I haven’t seen it yet.”

Locally, gas prices are averaging close to the state average of $2.73 per gallon for regular, but gas prices have increased five, 10 and even 25 cents per gallon in recent weeks, due in part to tensions in the Middle East.

Governments must approve their annual fiscal budgets by July 1. In recent years, spikes in fuel costs have forced budget amendments for some towns that nearly doubled the amount of money spent on fuel.

Ray said Friday his desire to raise the city’s reserve fund balance is at odds with the increased fuel costs and calls for more services by residents. He said he has instructed department heads to “budget high” in case funds run out before the end of the fiscal year.

Currently, Ray said, departments estimate their fuel on a month-by-month basis.

“I tell them to project off last month’s usage,” he said.

“We spend $100,000 on fuel alone,” he said. “That’s not to mention heating oil, or fuel for mowers and other small equipment.”

City departments have fuel budgets ranging from $8,000 with Parks and Recreation to $42,000 for the Whiteville Police Department. The increasing cost of fuel is hampering efforts to bring two new patrolmen and two new cars to the department, he said.

“That ($42,000) is the equivalent of a police car,” Ray said. “We wouldn’t have gas to run it, but that’s the cost of a cruiser, and it’s likely to keep going up.”

Lake Waccamaw Town Manager Darren Currie said Tuesday he’s seen a major spike in cost estimates for the town’s ongoing infrastructure improvements.

“In four years, there’s been an increase of more than 20 percent,” he said. “Everything has gone up.”

The cost increases extend far beyond a tank of gas, Currie said.

“Every part, every piece of pipe, every piece of equipment, every worker – they are all affected by the cost of fuel,” he said. “Whether it’s production or transportation costs, everything gets touched by petroleum products, and I don’t think the prices are going to get much better.”

Both managers said meticulous maintenance of equipment and sound management have helped the problem, but little can be done about budget increases caused by fuel prices. Neither manager has presented a proposal for a tax hike in the budgets, which are currently under construction.

“It takes fuel to provide services,” Currie said, “and I’m afraid it’s not going to get better real soon.”