Fueling Responsibility in Ventura County

The Grand Jury found that Simi, Thousand Oaks, Ventura and the County use Best Practices when dispensing fuel to municipal vehicles. These municipalities periodically meet and share information regarding efficient administration of fuel operations. (FA-01-05)

Simi, Thousand Oaks, Ventura and the County use commercial software to monitor fuel consumption, frequency of fueling, the amount of fuel dispensed and the mpg for each vehicle that requires fuel. This allows for tracking vehicle efficiency and monitoring for waste or theft of fuel. (FA-01-03) Fueling Responsibly in Ventura County 3

Simi, Thousand Oaks, Ventura and the County use surveillance cameras in conjunction with monitoring fuel mileage to spot and prevent the theft of fuel. (FA-05)

Simi, Thousand Oaks, Ventura and the County save money by purchasing fuel in bulk, at reduced rates, store it and dispense it as needed. (FA-04)

Oxnard does not follow Best Practices relative to the limited administration and monitoring of their fuel program, including minimal implementation and use of Shell report capabilities. (FA-10-13)

Oxnard saves about $.06 per gallon with their contract with Shell. (FA-10)

Oxnard does not have tanks to store fuel for cost saving or as a means to have fuel available during shortages. (FA-04, 12-13)

Oxnard and Simi have high-efficiency vehicles that are not attaining high mileage. (FA-12) Recommendations

There are different administrative policies and accounting procedures used by each of the municipalities associated with allocating administrative costs. This made comparing cost savings impractical.

Oxnard currently has a contract with Shell and saves about $.06 per gallon. Oxnard uses Shell’s reports to monitor fuel use, miles driven and fuel purchase history. The initial information provided by Oxnard to Shell, about each vehicle, was incomplete. Additional information and instructions are being provided to Shell after Oxnard brings vehicles in for maintenance. This information restricts the number of gallons dispensed to the volume of each vehicle’s individual fuel tank. [Ref-07]

The reports from Shell to Oxnard do not calculate mpg, although the information is available. There is no one at Oxnard Fleet Services available or assigned to review the reports. [Ref-07]

A review by the Grand Jury of the Shell reports for Oxnard revealed that two Toyota Prius vehicles were getting about 25 mpg. The other fleet Prius vehicles were getting about 50 mpg. Oxnard administrators advised that the two vehicles that were getting the lower mpg are used for traffic enforcement (parking tickets). They may be involved in continual start and stop operation according to Oxnard administration. Simi has a similar report with two Prius vehicles getting about 20 mpg. [Ref-07]

Oxnard is evaluating the option of obtaining fuel tanks as a cost-saving measure. Findings