Police hybrids step in right direction

Municipal leaders all over the suburbs are being challenged by the downturn in the housing market, a screeching halt in auto sales, the frayed nerves of the retail sector in general.

Without these three pistons of commerce pumping in concert, the revenue they generate to pay for municipal services slows to a trickle. And leaders need to find ways to either cut back on services, lessen the cost of them or find new ways to pay for them.

We've seen this manifested in many ways: hours of operations limited, job descriptions collapsed, people laid off or furloughed.

While one can make the biggest immediate impact by cutting payroll, there is another large expense just about every town faces that could stand some scrutiny: Gasoline consumption.

For a couple years now, suburban school districts have wrung their hands over the high cost of diesel fuel that powers their buses. But we haven't seen any good fuel-conscious alternatives to carting around 50 to 80 kids at a time.

Where we have seen alternatives is in police department fleets.

More than three dozen public safety departments across the state recently received a Department of Justice grant to buy a law enforcement vehicle. Of the 38 municipalities that received funding, 11 chose a gas-electric hybrid vehicle over a traditional gas-only car. Among the local departments were West Dundee, North Aurora, Round Lake Park and Oswego.

In order to receive the grant, towns must study how effective hybrid vehicles can be for police use.

"It depends on the officer's driving habits, but if we are downtown where the speed limit is below 30 mph and is more stop-and-go, we will save on miles," West Dundee Police Chief David Sawyer told staff writer Larissa Chinwah. "If we go out and drive faster than 30 to 35 mph, we're still going to spend less fuel than for a regular car."

West Dundee will use its hybrid for traffic control, surveillance and investigations, where a sudden burst of horsepower is likely unneeded.

Northern Illinois University's public safety department, on the other hand, already operates only gas-electric Toyota Priuses - and has saved 75 percent on its fuel costs.

"It has the pick-up-and-go if you need it," Lt. Curtis Young said. "Low speeds tear up the bigger engines, and with the speed limits in (DeKalb) at 30 mph and 20 on campus, the hybrid is a much better tool in our environment."

We advocate that as older squads are retired, suburban departments give hybrids a chance for less taxing work.

With federal funding being directed toward the development of electric-powered vehicles, we and police chiefs foresee cars that one day will be able to kick those gas-guzzling Crown Victorias to the curb for high-speed use.

Doubling the gas mileage for one car in a large fleet admittedly is a baby step. But it is a step in the right direction.