SALEM — In a town that burns more than 90,000 gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel annually, filling the gas tank this year could drive the energy budget into the red.
Salem Finance Director Jane Savastano told selectmen Monday that the town could be $115,000 over budget for gasoline and diesel fuel by December.
"It could be worse. It might be even worse than that," she said.
The town could be an additional $20,000 over budget for fuel oil by the end of the year as well, she said.
Since the selectmen want to stem the potential shortfall, they have called on the town to more aggressively collect unpaid ambulance fees, cut down on fuel consumption, and be a little less eager when it comes to cranking up the air conditioning this summer.
"The town has to do what we're doing at home. We have to tighten our belts," board Chairwoman Beth Roth said.
The town budgeted for fuel last fall based on the prices it was paying at the time — $2.37 a gallon for regular gasoline and $2.61 a gallon for diesel.
Now, Salem is paying $3.23 a gallon for gas and $3.88 for diesel.
The town pays a different price for gasoline based on a contract with a supplier. Salem also is able to avoid the 18-cent federal gasoline tax.
When the selectmen received the town's quarterly financial report Monday — which included good news about everything other than energy prices — the board immediately began calling on Salem's top brass to find ways to cut costs.
"Let's go outside the box. Let's go around. Let's find something," Selectman Pat Hargreaves said.
And while Savastano and Town Manager Jonathan Sistare said officials might be able to find some unexpected savings through retirements of some top employees, such as former Town Clerk Barbara Lessard, it was clear the town would have to do something to avoid a shortfall.
The biggest source of possible funding would likely be the town's ambulance fees, Savastano said.
Each time a Salem ambulance takes someone to the hospital, the patient or that person's insurance company receives a bill for the service. The town will go after the money if it doesn't receive a check, but only up to a point.
"It was the decision of past boards to go softly with collections," Selectman Arthur Barnes said.
Selectmen are now calling on Savastano to put together a more aggressive plan to go after unpaid ambulance fees. It wasn't clear Monday night how much money the town could get by collecting more aggressively.
But Savastano is meeting tomorrow with the town's billing company to discuss how to collect more money.
