Record-high gas prices drain Texas county's fuel budget, put pressure on first responders
Drained budgets force Williamson County, Texas first responders to tap into contingency funds to afford gas
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Willliamson County, Texas drained its annual fuel budget weeks ago, leaving first responders and taxpayers in a predicament unlike any other.
Lt. Mike Pendley, a first responder feeling the effects of the budget crisis, told "Fox & Friends First" Monday that the problem will not keep the department from doing its job.
"The good thing is, we've got a good budget office and good county officials who have prepared for contingencies like this," he told host Carley Shimkus.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Pendley said that while first responders would rather forego tapping into contingency funds to fill up their gas tanks, circumstances and eagerness to care for their community bring about the necessity.
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"We want to make sure that the community knows that, no matter the price of gas, if they call, we will be there," he said. "There are certain requirements that we need to meet, and we will make sure we are there to take care of our community."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Pendley said the community's judge "guaranteed" his department that funds for gas "will not be an issue" and that any necessary money will be delivered.
Shimkus shifted the focus to electric vehicles, a proposed solution to combat soaring gas prices, but Pendley says the change is not so easy.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It's not [an immediate solution]," he said. "We actually talked to our supplier about some of the options for electric vehicles… our county is outfitted with the Chevy Tahoe right now – that's what our maintenance guy is trained on, that's what our fleet have set up to service…"
Pendley said making a change is not as simple as buying a new vehicle and would involve training maintenance and ordering new parts and would not prove "cost-effective" considering the department has a relatively new fleet.
The national average price for regular gasoline hit $5 per gallon on Saturday, according to data from AAA.