August 5
August 5, 2008
Sarah Maria Domangue
August 7, 2008
While Lafourche and Terrebonne residents repeat the catchphrase from “The Price Is Right,” telling the declining price of gasoline to “come on down,” law enforcement agencies in the two parishes can do little but absorb the hit coming from expensive fuel.
“We can’t stop pulling people over,” said Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Vernon Bourgeois. “We’ve got to roll.”
All consumers are encouraged by the declining cost of gasoline, which fell around 18 cents a gallon last week, but the sheriff’s office gets a further break because it does not pay taxes on the fuel and because the department can use bulk discounts.
“If it keeps going down, we’ll be OK,” Bourgeois said. “If it goes back up, there are a few things we’ll have to look at.”
The price of gasoline has declined mainly through digging its own grave, economists say: High costs have spurred a reduction in demand.
“But unlike moms who can cut back on taking kids to practice, deputies have to travel,” said Capt. Roy Gros, patrol division commander with the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office.
“There’s no way we can stop the cars and not patrol. Parking cars doesn’t help people. We have to be out there patrolling.”
The sheriff’s office puts deputies on bicycles, but the department is not planning to increase the use of that fuel-free transportation, Gros said.
The principal way the sheriff’s office has cut back on gasoline consumption is by not leaving patrol cars running.
Deputies have not necessarily made that a practice in the past, Gros said, though the sheriff’s office has had to watch its fuel consumption during previous price spikes.
Sheriff’s Office spokesman Larry Weidel said, “We’re trying to monitor the activities of deputies and the distances they drive.”
State troopers arguably rack up the most miles on Tri-parish highways.
Louisiana State Police Troop C spokesman Gilbert Dardar Jr. said “there are no major league changes. We’re trying to be conservative as much as possible, such as not leaving the car running when we’re not in it.”
Calls to the Houma Police went unreturned as of press time.
