Please see the appended correction.
The Athens City Council passed an ordinance last week to establish an environmentally conscious policy for city vehicles, which includes purchasing hybrids or alternative vehicles to increase efficiency. Apparently the council was thinking that the recession is something that doesn't affect Athens taxpayers.
Being green is great. But being fiscally responsible is not optional. Hybrid vehicles tend to be priced significantly higher than non-hybrids and are not nearly as cost-efficient as claimed. It takes years and many miles for a hybrid car to begin to save money. Unless City Council can provide facts and figures to the city about how much of a great money-saving measure this plan will be, the council should look to someone who isn't just a green cheerleader for its fleet decisions.
Like the state of Ohio, for example.
In December 2008, the Ohio Department of Administrative Services made a change in the car purchasing policy for state fleets. Instead of purchasing the midsize Chevrolet Impala, state fleet managers are now expected to purchase the compact Ford Focus when they need to buy a new car for a state employee who drives alone or with one passenger.
According to a DAS spokesman, the state will save $242,000 this year by making that decision.
It's unlikely that Athens' proposed hybrid fleet would be saving money any time soon. The Honda Insight, a hybrid similar to the Focus, costs $19,800 and gets 43 miles per gallon of gas on the highway. The Focus gets significantly fewer miles to the gallon - 35 - but at $15,520, it also costs significantly less.
Yes, compact cars still use more gasoline than hybrids. But they can help to reduce fossil fuel use, at least somewhat, especially when compared to midsize cars (the Impala gets 24 miles to the gallon). And it could do so without officials' just throwing money around so that they can announce how green they are.
If City Council really wants to demonstrate a commitment to helping the environment, why not put some quality work into reducing waste by making more city transactions paperless? Walls of dead-tree files and records certainly aren't green. Why not look more carefully at the 24-hour street parking limit? Requiring residents to waste fuel and emit carbon dioxide driving around the block once a day doesn't exactly scream eco-friendly.
City Council needs to think more creatively about green policies. Environmental friendliness is admirable, but not if it's just a series of lofty suggestions that don't fit in the context of the time and space in which we're living. In light of the recession, Athens needs to consider all of its options, rather than just jumping on the green bandwagon. Taxpayers are owed that deference.
Editorials represent the views of The Post's executive editors.
Correction: This editorial was discussed and written under the impression that City Council's Green Fleets ordinance would require the city to purchase hybrid or alternative-fuel vehicles. A close reading of the ordinance, however, shows that this is not the case. The city will favor hybrid or alternative-fuel vehicles onlyif certain criteria are met. From the ordinance:
Hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles should be selected when capable of meeting operation needs and when the lifetime cost of the vehicle is within 115% of an equivalent traditional vehicle as calculated with the following parameters: seven (7) years of greater useful life
95% city driving and a fuel price equal to the previous 12-month average.
The Post regrets the error. 4
Opinion
Athens
