Politics & Government

Council: Town Needs Fuel Management System

A plan is in the works to implement a fuel management system through a company that specializes in such systems, but in the meantime, usage needs to be monitored, Legislative Council members say

The fuel pumps at the Hamden Public Works Department have evolved into a 24/7 operation, with town trucks, cars and Police and Fire Department vehicles coming and going all the time.

But how that fuel consumption is tracked has become an issue for members of the Legislative Council, who are questioning why it's taking so long to implement a formal system and are calling for temporary measures until the permanent system is in place.

About a year ago the town went out to bid for the FuelMaster system. Why it has taken so long to implement it, no one could say.

"For Public Works gas, it's something we control on a daily basis," said Public Works Director Craig Cesare. "I understand FuelMaster is on its way and it will go a long way to solve all these problems, but our facility is a 24/7 fueling operation and the question is working out the bugs and to make the Police Department and the Fire Department more accountable."

"I want everyone to be accountable," said council president Judi Kozak. "I don't care how we do it but we have to record it."

FuelMaster Fuel Management Systems offers ways to track fuel consumption. The town has been working for some time to bring the system to the Public Works station but it's still not known when it will be installed.

A Public Works employee keeps a log of that department's fuel use, Cesare said, but that's only during business hours. Police and fire vehicles have access to the pumps 24/7, he said, so it's impossible for his department to track that usage.

"Every single town vehicle is being fueled there," he said. "I don't see how I can be held accountable for that and I don't want to be held accountable."

"There has to be something in place determining who has the ultimate culpability," said Councilman Jack Kennelly, a former police chief and acting Public Works director.

"I'm not sure how we can achieve that," Cesare said.

"There are too many complicated things going on and I don't hear any solutions," said Councilwoman Carol Noble. "Since we don't have FuelMaster, we should have certain hours from a certain point to a certain point, and if they don't get gas then they are out of luck.

"We have gas going down the drain and there has to be a system at this point in time even if it is a short term solution of everything that is taking gas out of the tanks," she said. "Think of the savings we could gain for the short term until FuelMaster gets on line.

"I'm not asking you to solve the problem," Noble told Cesare. "We need to get a group of people involved in this ugly problem to sit down and solve the problem — it's not for you to solve, you are only one part of this issue and we need a group of people to sit down and solve it."

Kozak said she would have a letter drawn up to Mayor Scott Jackson this week inquiring as to why the FuelMaster system is taking so long to implement.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here