We're all feeling the pain at the pump lately.
But the rising gas prices are getting so out of control that one police department in Ohio has been forced to cut back on patrols because it can no longer afford to buy gas for its fleet of vehicles.
South Zanesville Police Chief Mark Ross says high gas prices have forced him to make changes to his department's usual patrol schedule: Instead of making themselves visible by patrolling neighborhoods, officers have now been instructed to simply park their vehicles, turn off their engines and wait for calls to come in.
"They can just sit there and be observant and be seen," Ross told Fox News. "We're not as visible as we normally want to be. We'd like to move around through our village and let people see us."
According to the Zanesville Times Recorder, the village upped the department's gas budget from $6,800 in 2021 to $10,000 in 2022 -- and they've already spent more than $3,500 through May.
In spite of the scaled-back patrol program, Ross says rising gas prices are still going to cause problems for the department.
"We're going to be over our budget if it continues," he told Fox News. "Economically, we're getting strapped here."
The move comes as the national average price for a gallon of gas crossed the $5 threshold for the first time in history, according to AAA.
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