MONROE - Area residents aren't the only ones being affected by skyrocketing gas prices.

Municipalities and businesses are feeling the pinch, too, and are dealing with the resulting financial strain in various ways.

MONROE SCHOOL DISTRICT

Skyrocketing diesel prices create the biggest impact on the Monroe school district's budget.

According to the Department of Energy, diesel fuel prices on Monday averaged $4.17 per gallon across the nation. That represents an increase of 136.6 percent from a year ago.

The increase definitely drives the cost of the transportation upward, said Ron Olson, district business manager. Monroe's contract with First Student to provide bus transportation includes a fuel escalator clause. Under the clause, each 10-cent increase in the price of diesel fuel costs the district an additional $2,700 per year.

The price of diesel has been increasing for four years, resulting in the district spending an additional $56,000 in diesel fuel alone over that same time period.

"We don't have any control over it," Olson said. About all the district can do is budget for the possibility of fuel increases so it's not an unexpected, and potentially catastrophic, blow to the budget, he said.

"Heating hasn't been as much of an issue," Olson said. "We do a lot of pre-purchasing" of the natural gas used to heat school buildings.

In doing so, the district waits for price fluctuations in fuel prices and locks them in when they are lower. Schools have also employed some energy savings techniques to lower heating and electrical costs, Olson said.

The district paid $48,000 per month for the peak heating months of January and February. It will spend about $200,000 for the year in heating costs, Olson said.

Gasoline prices, which increased an average of 63 percent from last year to $3.60 per gallon across the nation on Monday, are another, albeit smaller, concern. The district does use some gas for vehicles and machinery such as snowblowers and lawn mowers.

Any increase in any type of fuel impacts the budget, Olson said.

"Every dollar that we have to spend toward fuel costs are dollars we don't have for educational programs," he said.

"We'd love for fuel costs to be as low as possible," Olson said. But since the district has no control over what happens in the world crude oil market, there's not a lot it can do.

"We try and plan for it and mitigate it as best we can," Olson said. "It's a bit of a guessing game."

GREEN COUNTY GOVERNMENT

Green County has also felt the increase in gas prices over the past year.

Green County Sheriff Randy Roderick said his department spent about $101,700 in fuel for the squad cars in 2007. The sheriff's department budgeted $90,000.

Roderick said deputies traveled more than 638,000 miles in 2007. The number of miles driven is only part of the story, he said.

"People might think by looking at the miles traveled and the amount of fuel we used, we don't get very good gas mileage," he joked. "But they need to remember there are times when the cars are idling for several hours at a time at accident scenes."

Roderick said the cars need to run because the equipment inside the cars drains the batteries when they sit turned off for several hours at a time.

The money the department spends for gas has doubled in six years, Roderick added. In 2002 the department's fuel budget was $50,000.

CITY OF MONROE

Street Department Supervisor Tom Boll said gasoline prices haven't hurt the street and sanitation budgets too badly, but diesel prices have.

"The biggest thing is diesel. For the last three years, we've been adding extra money to the budget, because of the rising prices," Boll said. Estimating how high fuel prices could go makes that a difficult project, he added.

Snow removal this January and February created heavier use of fuel, but once that was over, Boll said the monthly amount used decreased.

Diesel costs just for snowplows was $10,300 for January and $18,300 for February. Last year diesel costs were $5,800 and $10,000 respectively for the two months, and that included garbage and recycling pickup costs.

City vehicles that use gasoline are filled with 10 percent ethanol, but none are capable of taking advantage of the 25 percent and 85 percent ethanol fuels. Boll said they fill the tanks wherever they find the cheapest prices, and have cards for use at the county pump station.

Boll said there really isn't any way to save on fuel.

"Garbage has to be collected, snow needs to be removed, storm inlets need to be cleared," he said.

One way city residents can help is by bagging leaves and other yard wastes. Many people rake their leaves into the street, which clogs up storm inlets.

Residents can get special stickers for yard waste wherever they buy trash stickers.

"The police are finding creative ways to maintain a decent amount of fuel consumption," said Rob Jacobson, technical service director for the Monroe Police Department.

Police cars frequently idle.

"To offset that and maintain a high level of service to citizens, police are asked to double ride," he said.

Police Chief Fred Kelley implemented a policy of "one hour of every shift on regular foot patrol in response to the fuel prices," Jacobson said.

Last year operation costs more than doubled because of fuel prices, he said.

Jacobson said the 2008 budget included the first increase for operations since 1999, due mainly to fuel (costs).

The department has 14 vehicles, including one Chevy Suburban minivan, four marked and one unmarked patrol cars and one canine unit. Other vehicles are for detectives and special services.

Jacobson said the department "always strives to purchase vehicles with good fuel economy" and purchases gasoline where it is most cost effective.

FARMERS

Fuel prices are having a negative impact on farmers, Green County Farm Service Agency Director Teresa Zimmer said.

"We see what it does to our cars," she said. "Imagine what it does when you have to buy diesel fuel."

Zimmer said petroleum is a key component to fertilizer and farmers have seen an increase in the cost of fertilizer this spring.

"Last year they were buying it for about $400 a ton. Now it costs them about $1,100 per ton," she said.

Alan Devoe, who farms near Monroe, estimates it will cost farmers between $100 and $150 per acre for fertilizer this year. Last year it cost him between $75 and $80 per acre.

"Most farms are about 1,000 acres," he said about crop farms.

Zimmer said farmers are in a difficult spot because in most instances they have to use fertilizer.

"Some soil needs less (fertilizer) depending on what the previous crop was and if they used manure on their fields or not," she said.

Zimmer said farmers might see increases in the amount they receive for grain but it's offset by how much it costs them to produce. She said most farmers still get about $3 a bushel for grain because they locked into contracts.

Some farmers, she said, might have to use less fertilizer or use more manure this year.

TRUCKERS

For 16 years, Jeff Hartwig has driven trucks all over the country.

Now, he's thinking of getting out of the business due to the rising cost of fuel.

He said fuel costs have risen more than $1,295 from just a year ago and has affected his business "drastically."

"It's the biggest expense I have," he said.

Hartwig said some companies will pay for the price of fuel, some won't. The last time he bought diesel fuel in Oak Creek it was $4.17 a gallon.

He said it doesn't pay for him to drive his truck when he has to pay so much for fuel.

It's frustrating, he said.

"All of that money goes to oil companies that are making a lot of money and they don't care that we're the ones who suffer," he said.

HOME CONSTRUCTION AND REALTY

Jay and Jon Pfarr, co-owners of Home Craft Construction, said contractors are attaching fuel surcharges to their contracts, and it's effecting the bottom line.

The Pfarrs build homes in a 50-miles radius of Monroe.

"We haven't added the fuel surcharges (to the home prices) yet," Jay Pfarr said. "You can't be increasing your billing with the way things are out there."

Although Home Craft Construction building starts were less than average in 2007, Pfarr said 2008 has, so far, been a bit better.

"Not much you can do but hold the line. Obviously, our bottom line is effected, but you just have to weather this thing and hope it's over sooner than later," he said.

Helping the bottom line is their construction of $500,000 secondary homes around Lake Carroll, Freeport and Apple Canyon for the "well-off Chicago clients."

Pfarr said these homeowners travel between their homes as much as three times a week.

But isn't the cost of gas limiting the traveling of even the rich? Pfarr shook his head from side to side.

Realtor Candace Walker, of Prudential Midwest Realty, said she has taken a second part-time job with Home Craft Construction to supplement her income. The cost of gas has taken its toll on her home showings.

"After months of looking," clients will decide homes are too expensive to fix up, or they don't have the down payment, or their credit is not good enough, Walker said.

Walker said home purchases will pick up this spring, but many of her clients will be in for a surprise.

"Buyers' down payments are increasing, and it's harder to get loans," she said.

TOURISM AND TRAVEL INDUSTRY

With summer approaching, rising gas prices beg the question, what effect will it have on tourism?

Noreen Rueckert, director of Green County Tourism, remains optimistic.

"Every year people talk about (gas prices)," she said. "In my opinion, I think people cut back on other things, not travel."

She expects people will be doing more local visiting. The tourism department is concentrating on advertising in a two- to two-and-a-half hour driving range, Rueckert said.

Some ad campaigns specifically target bicyclists: ads in Wisconsin Bike Federation Ride Guide, "Bike Green County" ads in Illinois and Wisconsin periodicals and direct mailings in Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa.

Local radio campaigns promote "Be a Tourist in Your Own Backyard with the new 2008 Visitor Guide," "Best of Green County" and ongoing summer and fall events.

"Chicago people come this way anyway, for that 'up north' feeling," she said.

Salena Allen, supervisor of the Super 8 Motel in Monroe, said her reservations are actually up this year.

"We were booked full last weekend and this weekend, and are almost full this coming weekend," she said.

Wedding guests filled many of the rooms.

"We have a lot of weddings," Allen said. "They block off rooms in the winter. And then we hold them a month before their date, so people can make their reservations."

The last weekend in April, the motel had two weddings and is expecting one or two this weekend.

"We'll have two and sometimes three a week by the end of summer," Allen said.

Allen said a few bicyclists have started to come through, and already their numbers are higher than last year.

- Monroe Times Features Editor Mary Jane Grenzow and reporters Brian Gray and Tere Dunlap contributed to this story