Suburbs feel sting of gas costs

As recently as February, when gas prices spiked hard, browsers at Burnsville Toyota were curious but not hooked on the thought of buying the Prius, which typically gets 50 miles a gallon or more.

Now, with prices reaching $3.69 for a gallon of regular, consumer demand for Toyota's premier hybrid has soared so quickly there's a two-month wait. Sales are up 40 percent so far this year over the same period last year, said owner Dick Sjoquist.

"Inquisitiveness," he said Friday, "changed to actual sales."

It's just one way in which galloping fuel prices are affecting businesses, governments and consumers in the suburban areas. Another is the new fuel surcharges that businesses say they might be forced to add. And there's the cost to local government, which taxpayers will cover.

In Dakota County, for instance, fuel costs for heavy equipment, trucks and other vehicles already were up because of a cold, snowy winter. Then came the record-high run on crude oil, and the higher fuel prices that followed.

Dakota County's 2008 budget for unleaded fuel is $601,380, a 15 percent hike over 2007, said county spokeswoman Sharon Madsen. For diesel fuel it's $531,297 -- up 25 percent.

In Scott County, bulk discounts are softening the blow, but a higher-than-expected price tag is still liable to cause a 39 percent increase in the two put together. That comes to roughly $210,000, said Steven Jones, who works in finance.

How to put that into context?

"For me that's maybe two or three sheriff's deputies, counting the car you'd buy and benefits," said Bob Vogel, who chairs the County Board.

The city of Savage budgeted $46,840 more for heating buildings and the like in 2008 than in 2007 (new total: $175,240) and for vehicles, $45,775 more (to $207,225), said spokeswoman Amy Barnett. It's too early yet to say whether that's going to be enough, she said, but the minutest details of vehicle use are being re-thought.

"Do we really need to drive that dump truck to the park across town," she asked, "or will a pickup work just as well?"

Heavy toll on business

The same type of calculations apply to business, said Julie Ketchum, spokeswoman for garbage hauler Waste Management of Minnesota.

"We do pre- and post-trip inspections of each truck to make sure it's running as efficiently as possible -- that tires are properly inflated, for instance," she said.

At Pahl's Market in Apple Valley, where there's a greenhouses and plants are shipped in, owner Gary Pahl said he has managed to avoid raising prices for customers even as fuel costs him more.

For about a year, he's been paying a trucking fuel surcharge. He's been smacked, too, with higher fuel costs for his delivery trucks locally, and the trucks that deliver his plants from throughout North America.

A cloudy, cold winter and spring have also jacked up his expenses for costly natural gas used to heat the greenhouse, Pahl said. "All the global warming gurus out there, tell them to move to Minnesota," he said. "There's no global warming. It's a crock."

Still others hope it's all a business opportunity. Jeff Exe of Prior Lake has just begun marketing a product called MileEdge Plus that promises to make vehicles 5 to 10 percent more fuel-efficient by compressing airflow through an engine.

"We're giving the first few away to big customers like truckers, to prove our point" he said. "In today's market it's a no-brainer."

Joy Powell • 952-882-9017 David Peterson • 952-882-9023