DENVER — Squeezed by soaring energy prices, governments around the nation are reacting just like consumers -- changing basic routines, and scrimping and saving in order to get by.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Department in southeastern Colorado has ended car patrols of its 2,000-square-mile jurisdiction. One Ohio sheriff is putting his deputies into golf carts. Stillwater, Okla., has stopped mowing the grass on nearly half of its parkland. Cleveland is remapping its trash pickup routes to cut costs.
"I know it's a step backwards," said El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa, whose deputies will now respond only to calls for help. "But when the dollars aren't there, they aren't there."
High energy costs have taken a toll on government budgets already strained by the housing collapse. "They have a much more direct role in affecting consumer confidence, which can affect sales tax revenue, which accounts for one-third of state revenues," said Arturo Perez, an analyst at the National Conference of State Legislatures.
That has helped push nearly half the states into budget deficits this year; 24 are cutting services to close the gaps, Perez said. In California, lawmakers are struggling to close a $15.2-billion deficit.
Municipal governments, which rely on state aid plus local tax money, are also feeling the pinch.
School buses are major gas guzzlers, and several districts are cutting back routes. In suburban Seattle, the Northshore School District has cut eight bus routes, requiring some students to walk farther to get to their stops. Children will no longer be able to use school buses to travel to gifted programs at far-off schools.
Parents are not happy. "It took some getting used to, because people like having their bus stop really close to their home," spokeswoman Susan Stoltzfus said. "But school buses generally get six miles to a gallon."
In St. Joseph County in Indiana, the library system is facing major cuts and has decided to park its Readmobile for most of the summer. "It's very frustrating. . . . We just can't do the regular runs like we did in the past," spokesman David Hanna said.
Several cities, counties and states are either shifting to a four-day workweek or considering it. Utah announced that starting in August, state offices will be open Monday through Thursday. Officials expect to save at least $3 million in energy costs by going dark on Fridays.
