More officers in blue are driving green

Wetherbee has a hybrid SUV as part of his department's fleet of vehicles, is expecting a new hybrid sedan to be delivered next month, and has hopes to buy more hybrids in the next year for use as unmarked police cars. He is counting on the new vehicles to dramatically reduce his fuel bills at a time when the town's other expenses are skyrocketing and revenues are plunging.

"I felt this is one way we could effect some change in a positive way, environmentally as well as operationally, and not impact our delivery of services at all," Wetherbee said. "It's necessary to make changes."

A number of local officials have been reluctant to buy hybrid vehicles, which typically use an electric motor to supplement a gasoline- or diesel-powered engine, saying they are too expensive or too new to have a strong track record for reliability, long life, and continued fuel savings.

But several area communities have paid the extra money for energy-efficient vehicles for use by police, public works, and other municipal departments, with an eye toward cutting both fuel budgets and greenhouse gas emissions.

Based on a Globe sample of a few local municipalities, Framing ham, Lexington, Natick, Newton, and Waltham have joined Concord in adding hybrids or alternative-fuel vehicles to their fleets, while Ashland, Marlborough, and Pepperell have not. Concord, Framingham, and Marlborough officials said they had applied for government reimbursements that are available this year for the energy-efficient models.

The state recently announced that cities and towns that apply to the Department of Energy Resources by tomorrow could be reimbursed for a portion of the cost difference between hybrid and alternative-fuel vehicles and their gasoline-fueled counterparts.

As part of the federal stimulus package, the program could bring from $5 million to $15 million to the state, officials said, with the rebates ranging from about $2,000 for gasoline-electric hybrid cars to $50,000 for heavy-duty trucks powered by compressed natural gas or hydrogen.

The difference in price can be substantial. A 2009 Ford Escape, a sport-utility vehicle with a four-cylinder engine, costs an average of $24,802, while the Escape's hybrid version has an average price tag of $32,700, according to the Kelley Blue Book, an industry cost guide.

According to the Blue Book's statistics on their fuel efficiency during stop-and-go city driving, the conventional Ford Escape gets 20 miles per gallon of gasoline, while the hybrid model gets 34.

Concord already counts four hybrids among its vehicles, with two Toyota Priuses at the Municipal Light Plant and a Ford Escape at the Water Department joining the Escape being used by police officers. And due to arrive next month is the department's Ford Fusion hybrid sedan, which Wetherbee said will be in line for the reimbursement program.

The police chief said he expects to purchase at least four replacement cars in the fiscal year starting July 1, and he might be in the market for more hybrids.

According to his calculations, Wetherbee said, the department's hybrid Ford Escape will save $5,000 a year in fuel costs compared with the gas-powered Ford Explorer it is replacing, and hybrids may eventually cut his $73,000 fuel bill in half.

Framingham has two Ford Escape hybrids that town engineers use for site inspections, according to Fred Davies, director of fleet and facilities for the town's Department of Public Works. The town has applied for rebates for a Freightliner diesel-hybrid truck that is needed to inspect underground sewer lines for breaks or obstruction.

Because of Framingham's budget difficulties, however, officials have not decided whether to purchase any additional vehicles, Davies said.

In Marlborough, officials have applied for grants to help pay to replace one or two 1-ton vehicles and two pickup trucks, according to Tom Temple, the city Public Works Department's assistant commissioner of operations.

"Hybrids would be more efficient and get better gas mileage and reduce our costs," said Temple, who stressed that the City Council is in charge of approving any purchases.

In Newton, Mayor David Cohen and the city's Health and Human Services and Inspectional Services departments have Toyota Priuses, said the mayor's spokesman, Jeremy Solomon. He said the city is not looking to buy any new hybrids, however.

Waltham Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy said that while her city has three hybrids, she is trying to reduce the municipal fleet to save money, so she is not in the market for more.

Officials in smaller communities also report that hybrids and alternative-fuel vehicles are not in their immediate plans.

Lexington Town Manager Carl F. Valente said while the town has four hybrid Ford Escapes, all in the Department of Public Works, no additional purchases are expected because of a tight budget. Also, he said, the town has encountered a worrisome problem: the hybrids tend to shift from electric power to the gasoline engine when the heating or air conditioning is used, cutting into their fuel savings.

Last year, Natick purchased a new Chevy pickup with a diesel engine, which gets better mileage and produces fewer emissions than the gasoline-powered model but does not qualify for this year's rebate offer, said Robert Bois, the town's environmental compliance officer. He said there is no need for another vehicle now, hybrid or otherwise.

That is also the case in Ashland and Pepperell, where officials say they neither need nor can afford a large fleet of vehicles, hybrid or otherwise. But that could change, eventually.

"As we move forward, it is certainly an option we're going to be looking at," said Ashland Town Manager John Petrin.

Officials in several communities that need police cars said they would not consider hybrids, based on concerns that officers would not consider them suitable for the job.

"There really isn't an appropriate alternative that meets law enforcement needs," said Framingham Town Manager Julian Suso. In Natick, Bois said he believes the police would not warm to them.

Concord's police chief said he understands their misgivings, but predicts that the reluctance won't last, as police officers become accustomed to the vehicles.

"Not only will it be a technological change, but it's going to be an image change that myself and other chiefs across the country are going to have to deal with," Wetherbee said.

Contrary to popular opinion, Wetherbee said, he believes the hybrids have as much get-up-and-go as gasoline-powered vehicles. Besides, he said, the days of the high-speed police chase are over, eliminating the need for oversized engines.

Wetherbee said he is going to have his officers take turns driving the hybrids, and once they become familiar with the vehicles, they can help him decide whether to buy more.

Connie Paige can be reached at connie_paige@yahoo.com.