BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Drivers are feeling the pain as gas has surpassed $5 a gallon in many areas. Cities also feel the pain. Unlike most families with one or two cars, they have to pay for multiple vehicles, including police, fire and EMS vehicles.
In a penny-pinching move, a sheriff's department in central Michigan announced they are going to handle "non-urgent" calls over the phone due to high gas prices.
WTOL 11 checked in with some departments in northwest Ohio that say they are nowhere near that point yet.
Other departments, like the Bowling Green Police Division, are thankful for their decision to move towards hybrid cruisers. Six out of the 19 marked vehicles are hybrids, with five more on the way.
"Our hope is that by the end of next year, the vast majority of our fleet will be hybrid vehicles. Obviously, in addition for the cost savings of gasoline, the city of Bowling Green has made an effort to try and be green in any way that we can," Lt. Adam Skaff, with the Bowling Green Police Division, said.
WTOL 11 also reached out to Rossford Police Chief Todd Kitzler, who said before the price spike, the city would typically pay $4,000-$5,000 a month for gas for police, fire, buses and other cars. For the month of May, that jumped to $9,000.
Kitzler also said that if things stay the same through the fall season, there could be discussions about changing the budget or other finances.
Other departments like Bowling Green Fire have said the same thing.