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With fluctuating gas prices straining the budget, local communities are focusing on a number of small steps to help reduce costs - from looking at buying fuel-efficient vehicles to instructing workers to shut off idling engines.

North Attleboro Town Administrator Mark Fisher said the town is looking at buying fuel-efficient vehicles when cars are replaced for a variety of town departments.

Whether the town soon will start purchasing those types of cars depends on if there is enough money to fund vehicle replacements listed in the capital improvement program at October's town meeting.

Gasoline costs are watched very closely, Fisher said, and are examined each month on a department-by-department basis.

"We have a monthly analysis of where we think we are with the budget," he said. "Right now, I'm projecting a shortfall of about $60,000 to $100,000 in gasoline costs. But that could change depending on the price of gasoline." Efforts to cut fuel costs in Attleboro are informal and based on common sense, said Barry LaCasse, the city's director of budget and administration.

He said Mayor Kevin Dumas has ordered city workers to conserve fuel whenever possible and to shut off vehicles if idling is unnecessary.

He has also ordered that departments use the minimum number of vehicles needed to get their jobs done.

The city's biggest fuel users are the police department, which is on the road 24-hours a day, and the public works and fire departments, both of which use heavy diesel-powered trucks and other equipment.

LaCasse said most employees are not allowed to take city vehicles home at night, which cuts down on gasoline consumption. The police and fire chiefs are the exception to the rule.

No limitations have been placed on use, but the city has asked employees to use fuel wisely, as they would with their own vehicles.

"We've asked them to treat it as if it were their own gasoline," LaCasse said.

LaCasse said the city has looked into buying gas-saving hybrid vehicles, but the cost of hybrids currently is so high it would wipe out any savings achieved in fuel economy.

North Attleboro Public Works Director Mark Hollowell said that while some members of the department can use fuel-efficient vehicles, some jobs require the use of trucks and equipment that use more gasoline.

He said switching to hybrid cars - even for employees who do not need to travel off-road - could create costs in another area: maintenance. "Every time something went wrong, we would have to send the car out for service because our guys couldn't work on it," Hollowell said.

Foxboro Town Manager Andrew Gala said his town has looked at using smaller, fuel-efficient cars in the police department, and the idea will be given further consideration in the next budget season.

In the meantime, he said, "We send out monthly reminders along with usage reports asking everyone to avoid any unnecessary trips and to turn off vehicles instead of letting cars idle."

In addition, Foxboro benefits from lower gasoline prices because it is a member of a 17-town regional consortium called the Southeastern Regional Services Group, which allows the town to purchase gasoline a prices at less than retail costs.

Staff Writer George Rhodes contributed to this report.