[One of cities' pressing issues related to energy uncertainty is the issue of maintaining and budgeting for services, like police, fire, and schools, when the future price of fuel is unknown. Current high prices are already causing changes in the way some police departments approach their jobs, as detailed below. This article is an EXCERPT: read the whole thing here. -Ed.]

"With gasoline climbing toward $4 a gallon, police officers around the country are losing the right to take their patrol cars home and are being forced to double up in cruisers and walk the beat more.

"The gas crunch could also put an end to the time-honored way cops leave their engines running when they get out to investigate something."

"In Grainger County, Tenn., Sheriff James Harville planned for gas prices of $2.22 a gallon when he drew up his budget last year. He has since redrawn the patrol map for the two officers who work each shift, splitting his county in half. He now puts one officer in each half and makes them responsible for all calls in their area.

"'That way, unless it's just a life-threatening call, I don't have officers just crisscrossing the county,' said Harville."

"As the fiscal year comes to an end, chiefs and sheriffs are trying to predict how high gas prices will go and craft budgets that won't be blown."

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