The Flathead County Road Department could save about $158,000 during the first half of 2015 if gas prices continue at an average of $1.88 per gallon.

“There is a sizable amount of potential savings,” Flathead County Public Works Director Dave Prunty said. “The drop [in prices] has been good; it’s darn sure going to help.”

There are variables such as the amount of snowplowing in any given winter and road maintenance that figure into how much the county Road Department spends on gas, Prunty said. 

He based his $158,000 savings on the premise that the department will use approximately the same amount of gas and diesel fuel during the first half of 2015 as it did during the first six months of 2014.

Whether gas prices will remain at less than $2 per gallon is uncertain, though. Prices have been in a freefall nationwide, declining for 123 straight days until bottoming out at a six-year low last week. Some petroleum industry analysts have predicted prices could increase — at least moderately — as the summer driving season approaches.

Fuel is a big expense for Flathead County, with $1.76 million budgeted this fiscal year for gas, diesel and oil.

The county Road and Bridge Department is the biggest fuel user among county departments. It has $723,000 budgeted for roads and $55,000 for bridge work for the current fiscal year that ends June 30. The budget line items were calculated using an average cost per gallon of $3.13.

The landfill’s fuel budget is $335,000 for the current fiscal years, followed by the Sheriff’s Office at $322,652. Those departments also stand to see sizable savings if the low fuel prices continue.

As the county begins its budgeting process for the 2016 fiscal year, there will be some guesswork involved in determining how to budget for fuel, county Administrator Mike Pence said.

“We’ll ratchet [fuel] numbers down, and I assume there might be some ratcheting back up,” Pence said. “We try to find a happy medium ... We’ll see what happens in the next several weeks. We’ll be able to see where things are at before we adopt [a final] budget.”

Money saved from lower fuel costs stays in each department’s cash balance, Pence said. Department heads have authority over their budgets, except for personnel services and capital project expenditures.

“Everything over $5,000 and has a lifespan of five or more years is considered capital,” he said.

But, Pence added, “we don’t spend [savings from lower fuel prices] just because it’s there. We plan ending balances as part of next year’s expenditures.”

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.