|
|
| |
| Sat, Sep. 6, 2008 |  |
 |
|
||
| |
Beebe: Gas prices may force state agencies to reduce travel Wednesday, May 21, 2008 By John Lyon Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Soaring gas prices could wreak havoc with state budgets and may force state agencies to cut back on travel, Gov. Mike Beebe said Tuesday. The average price of regular gasoline in Arkansas was $3.69 per gallon Tuesday, a new record, according to the American Automobile Association. Asked what gas prices approaching or exceeding $4 per gallon would mean for state government, Beebe said the spiral could mean travel restrictions at some state agencies, possibly including the Arkansas State Police. "You have people now planning contingencies, but unfortunately with the way these gasoline prices are going we don't know where they're going to end up ... it could wreak havoc on some of the budgets," the governor said. "You'd hate to think that something as critical as state police would have that (travel restrictions)," he said. "They'd probably be the last folks you'd limit their travel because they're so essential out on the highways. But they may do more stationary and respond stuff rather than the cruising." Beebe said he had no specific agencies in mind to restrict travel. Agencies that could conduct more business by telephone, e-mail or some other means of communication probably would be the first considered, he said. State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said the agency is operating within its budget now, but in past years it has reduced travel when budgets were tight. "It's called stationary patrols," Sadler said. "A trooper may be assigned to a particular zone and not move from that zone unless there is some particular emergency that would require him traveling." The agency has more than 500 commissioned personnel, and each of them has a vehicle, Sadler said. The Department of Human Services, the state's largest agency, has not placed any travel restrictions on its 7,500 employees, and doing so would be difficult because of the agency's mission, spokeswoman Julie Munsell said. "A child in need is going to be addressed," she said. DHS employees drove 1.8 million miles and charged $264,000 to their gas cards in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, Munsell said. During the 2006-07 fiscal year, DHS employees drove 3.6 million miles and charged $224,000 to their gas cards, Munsell said. She said she was not sure why employees had driven only half as many miles so far this fiscal year, but she said it may mean they are voluntarily finding ways to be more efficient because of high gas prices. "I don't know of any agency-wide initiatives," Munsell said. "Obviously, we really harp on watching those dollars and watching that mileage." |
