State, Federal Energy Policy Help Needed, Monmouth County Urges

FREHOLD, N.J.— Fuel increases are having a "startling" effect on costs for Monmouth County government, and county commissioners are calling on state and federal officials to address the issue through policy, they said in a news release.

The Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners is asking they take action to adopt policies that will help lead to energy independence and lower costs in the United States and New Jersey, the news release said.

“My fellow commissioners and I passed a resolution back in March calling on our federal and state policymakers to take action as we saw fuel prices rising at the fastest pace recorded since 2000 and nothing has been done,” said Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone, a Republican.

“Three months later, we are mid-way through the year and starting to see the startling effects that fuel prices are having on county operations.”

“As of today, we are on track to spend three times as much on fuel in 2022 than we did in 2020. We want our residents to know that we are working hard to maintain services while also balancing our budget, but we need our policymakers to provide relief,” said Arnone.

Measures the County has already taken to offset increasing costs include:

• the installation of solar panels on some trucks in order to reduce idling while using warning lights during road and bridge maintenance operations
• recycling of asphalt in-house to produce hot patch for repairing and paving operations
• scheduling of multiple maintenance operations within one work zone to reduce equipment and trucks required
• procurement of trucks which are bio-diesel compatible to be able to utilize fuel produced from soybeans and other similar products
• upgrading and replacement of heating and air conditioning systems in county buildings
• conducting energy audits on facilities along with many other measures.

“These measures not only reduce our energy use and cost but also lowers the county’s carbon footprint,” said Arnone.

The board acknowledges in the release that the causes of surging energy prices are "complex and multi-faceted," but said that, in the opinion of some industry experts, state and federal policies hinder production.