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The price of regular gas was at $4.59 a gallon at the Corner Sunoco on June 30, just as prices were beginning to dip. 

As fuel prices soared across the country, law enforcement and other emergency services in the region are eyeing their budgets and looking at ways to cut costs without rolling back services.

On Tuesday, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in Virginia was at $4.43 with diesel prices at $5.57. Prices have dropped some over the last few weeks, but it’s unclear if the downward trend will continue, and it’s still a far cry from last year’s average of $2.94 per gallon of regular and $3.07 per gallon of diesel.

“We're feeling the punch at the pumps just like everybody else, but we'll continue services until we don't have any fuel,” said Smyth County Sheriff Chip Shuler.

The Smyth County Sheriff's Office surpassed its fuel budget earlier this year, but Shuler said the department was able to pull funds from other non-critical budget areas to offset the costs.

“When we budgeted last year—I always try to account for some overages—but there’s no way we could even have a clue what would happen this year,” Shuler said.

SCSO was able to pull money from its radio fund and from surplus funds that were budgeted for the department’s electricity bill. “How ironic is that,” Shuler said.

Cutting costs at the gas pump is difficult in the policing field as most officers spend a large chunk of their time behind the wheel, patrolling their communities.

“We have to go to the same places everyday regardless of the price of fuel,” said Tazewell County Sheriff Brian Hieatt.

In addition to regular patrols, calls for service and summons delivery, which can take 30 to 40 minutes of travel time in some parts of the county, Hieatt pointed out that deputies also have to travel long distances to pick up people who have been arrested outside of the county, sometimes out-of-state.

And then there are mental health transports. Patients under emergency custody orders (ECOs) can sometimes be placed at facilities clear across the state.

“When we have to transport mental patients to different facilities, we can’t say ‘Sorry, gas prices are high and we have to save,’ Hieatt said. “When we get that order from the magistrate that says you have to take this person to this facility, then you have to go.”

Hieatt pointed out that the number of people in need of mental health services has increased over the last few years.

“That’s increased our fuel costs, too, because if they can’t find a local bed here, we’re having to go to Richmond or Petersburg — you’re talking hundreds of miles away,” said Bland County Sheriff Jason Ramsey. 

Ramsey pointed out that, in addition to fuel prices, prices for maintenance on patrol vehicles has also gone up.

“Oil changes when we get our vehicles serviced, from what it was the last couple of years, it’s almost doubled in price,” Ramsey said. “Tires are higher, everything related to a vehicle expense has almost doubled in the last two years.”

Tazewell County has been able to snag some savings on maintenance in recent years thanks to a vehicle leasing program the sheriff’s office began in 2019, County Administrator Eric Young explained.

“Instead of buying vehicles and riding them until the wheels come off, we are leasing them for three years and then leasing another new replacement unit,” Young said. “This allows us to migrate toward a younger, more fuel efficient fleet, also saving us on maintenance and repair costs because the newer vehicles require less work.”

That move proved helpful the first few years, but Young said, “This year, higher fuel prices have eaten the savings we have achieved from the leasing program.”

Some law enforcement in other parts of the country have taken to reducing patrols, pairing officers up or handling calls for service over the phone when possible to reduce costs, but that’s not something local police are interested in. All agreed that altering services wouldn’t be something they’d consider.

“Our goal is to keep providing the same great service, to answer every call and be there regardless of what the gas prices are and not let it affect the service that we’re providing our citizens,” Hieatt said.

As in Smyth County, the Bland County Sheriff’s Office has been able to move funds from other areas of its budget to offset fuel costs. Ramsey said BCSO has also increased its traffic ticket numbers to bring in more revenue.

Both Bland and Tazewell county sheriff’s offices are also discouraging long periods of idling to help reserve fuel.

Hieatt said he’s long discouraged deputies from leaving their patrol cars idling while they go inside a building for long periods. That preference has now become policy, unless the vehicle is occupied by a K9, he said.

“I’ve never liked them to keep their cars running, but now it’s much more relevant for us to tell them not to do it,” he said.

Similarly, the Wytheville Police Department is also encouraging officers to periodically park in highly visible areas during patrols in lieu of driving around.

“Patrol is the biggest deterrence of crime,” said Wytheville PD Lt. Bryan Bard.

“We’re out there, we’re patrolling, we’re answering calls — they (residents) might just see us sitting in a highly visible area doing stationary patrols so people know we’re there,” he said. “We’re out there, still watching out for them.”

While law enforcement have been able to take some measures — however small — to minimize fuel usage, the same cannot be said when it comes to others in emergency services.

“We usually don’t go out unless we’re called out for an emergency,” explained Marion Fire Chief Richard Keesling, so there’s no opportunity to reserve fuel.

Almost all vehicles at Marion Fire-EMS are diesel, which typically costs more than regular gasoline, save for some portable equipment such as saws and fans that run off of a gas-powered generator.

To make the budgeting process a little more difficult, the department has seen an increase in call volumes over the last several years. At a recent meeting, Keesling told the Marion Town Council that the department was on track to have its busiest year since it began tracking numbers in 2015. Through May, the chief said, Marion Fire-EMS had answered 1,190 calls, up 20.9% from 2021.

“Our call volume’s been going up every year… which means more fuel,” Keesling said.

Marion Town Manager Bill Rush said cutting back on gas usage is almost impossible for a municipality without cutting services, which, he said, citizens would rightly protest.

“The solution is to tighten our belts in other places, defer some planned expenditures and weather the storm,” Rush said.

Marion has increased its 2022-23 fiscal budget with more funds allocated for “auto/gas/oil etc.”

Like the Town of Marion, Smyth and Tazewell counties have also increased their budgets for the coming fiscal year, which began July 1. Fuel line items for all departments were increased by 30% in Smyth. Tazewell County upped its fuel number another $50,000 on top of a previous $100,000 increase, putting the number for fuel up 45% since FY 2020-2021.

Shuler said without the increase in Smyth County, he was sure he’d have had to ask for more funding halfway through the fiscal year.

“We’re going into another 12-month cycle. It’s going to be a lot. We’re going to be looking at almost double the price per gallon,” he said.

Those increases will likely be felt in other areas. In Marion, Rush said that means “a general tightening of ‘discretionary’ expenditures.”

Bland County Administrator Eric Workman said inflationary costs naturally have an impact on local governments, as well as on residents and businesses.

“Anytime an operational necessity, such as fuel, experiences rapid increases, it will have budgetary impacts,” Workman said.

He said the sheriff’s office in Bland County monitors its operational expenses throughout the year and that “The Sheriff’s Department has always worked closely with the Board of Supervisors, county administrators and state officials to identify solutions to address these types of issues as they arise with the goal of providing quality law enforcement community service to the public.”

It’s unclear when motorists will see relief at the pump. Talk of taking a gas tax holiday has received mixed reviews on both the state and national levels, with supporters arguing suspending the tax could help motorists save and opponents arguing that fuel companies would end up pocketing those savings, leaving no relief for consumers.

Regardless of how long fuel prices stay high, local law enforcement and emergency services say their services will go unchanged.

“Public safety is more important than the cost of fuel,” Ramsey said.

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The price of regular gas was at $4.59 a gallon at the Corner Sunoco on June 30, just as prices were beginning to dip.