Gas Gashes East Ellijay Budget

“We didn’t anticipate we’d be paying four dollars for gasoline this time of year or even three fifty”

Among changes made to East Ellijay’s budget last week, efforts to accommodate high gas prices seemed to take center stage in the discussion.

“We didn’t anticipate we’d be paying four dollars for gasoline this time of year or even three fifty,”

Mayor Mack West told council this month, adding,

“We’d thought we’d be down around three dollars; it went the other way, so (we) have a shortage.”

As such, the city was forced to pass an amendment to the budget to find a way to compensate for the shortfall.

During last Tuesday’s meeting, the city held a public hearing in a nearly empty room to review needed budget amendments. Here, Mayor West explained that part of the amendment included a transfer of $6200 out of the machinery account, where the city has an overage, to the police department, to offset a shortage in this department. The shortage was mainly for gas for city services, West noted. The mayor also said that no revenues or expenditures were increased in the budget, stressing that the city only moved existing money from one department to another.

As the mayor noted during the meeting, gas prices are higher than expected for this time of the year. In April 2011 the national average of a gallon of gas was $2.85. This year, however, the national average is $3.94. Last year in Georgia, the average state-wide was $3.69 and this year the state average is $3.80. But, here in East Ellijay, gas prices are more staggering. In the last few days, prices in East Ellijay have ranged from $3.79 to $4.01.

Some commuters pay as much as over 100 dollars a week in gas to commute to their jobs these days, while small business owners strain to keep vehicles running.

As such, East Ellijay’s move is evocative of a nation-wide concern, high gas prices, stoking the debate of the nation’s energy independence, with talk of exploring alternative sources of energy. Several months ago, our country’s gas prices were the topic of numerous rounds of presidential debates. Ever since, the topic has faded in and out of public conversation, but inevitably resurfaces. Speaking to the NRA on Friday, Presidential Candidate Newt Gingrich reiterated his plan for $2.50 a gallon gas, which he says can be accomplished by allowing the Keystone Pipeline to open, running gas from Canada to Texas, and opening up drilling for oil companies along our coastlines. He also argues for greater access to natural gas. Leading candidate and likely Republican nominee Mitt Romney also underscored Gingrich’s solutions to the problem, saying, he would open up drilling off our coasts and approve Keystone, while criticizing Gingrich for his focus on achieving gas at a specific price. For his part, Gingrich feels he can help get the price of gas lower than $2.50, but gave this number as a buffer.

As we creep closer to November, the issue will permeate public debate and continue to pressure municipal budgets…and taxpayers’ wallets.

East Ellijay City Council passed the recommended budget amendments unanimously, while the mayor confirmed the new budget will be effective April 10th.