Indiana City Approves New Fuel Contracts

The Fort Wayne, Indiana, City Council has approved two new fuel contracts to help the city's fleet run. The council approved a contract for unleaded gasoline and a contract for diesel, according to WANE. The contracts will run through all of 2023.

Diesel fuel, which cost the city $2.52 per gallon in 2022, is priced to not exceed $4.50 per gallon, WANE reported. City council documents show that the total cost of the diesel contract with Ag Plus Inc. is $1.2 million for 270,000 gallons -- or 22,500 gallons per month.

Unleaded gas will cost the city $2.97 per gallon, compared to 2022's $1.89 per gallon, according to WANE. The $2.2 million contract with Lassau Bros. Oil, Inc. will allow the city 756,000 gallons -- or approximately 63,000 gallons per month, according to the purchase agreement.

"As we all want lower fuel costs, when we first started on the pricing for the gas for our fleet, [it] was substantially over the $3.00 mark. Getting below that threshold was a win even though its higher than this year's locked price by $1.00, along with being highest price since 2012 for our gas," Director of Fleet Operations Larry Campbell told Government Fleet. "It becomes about budgeting so we are not going back to the City Council asking for more money in the Fuel budget as it becomes a number that you cannot control."

The funding for both contracts comes out of the city's fleet budget.

Campbell said he is still negotiating the contract price of B20 biodiesel. The city council approved a number for the department to not surpass, and trusts the department to get the best price possible, Campbell explained.