CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- Filling up has become an expensive practice in Chula Vista. The city doesn't own one vehicle, or ten -- it owns hundreds.

Chula Vista Public Works director Jack Griffin said, "Buses, police cruisers, dump trucks, back hoes, a variety of smaller light-duty vehicles …"

Keeping them on the road this summer has been just as painful for the city as it's been on drivers.

"Well, I think like everybody else the price spike in the summer caught everybody by surprise," said Griffin.

Chula Vista is waiting and watching, hoping the price of gas continues to go down. The city planned to spend more on gas this year but just not this much. Now the city might need more money just to get through the rest of the year.

The city might have to spend more tax dollars, and that is not a pleasant thought for Chula Vista as it is already fighting to stay out of the red.

"Our estimates are we're not going to be as over as much as we thought but we're still struggling," said Griffin.

The city of Chula Vista does receive a discount at the pump of about 20 cents a gallon. It certainly adds up when hundreds of cars and trucks are driven each day.

However, the city is trying to ration as much fuel as possible.

"We tried to cut down on any non-essential travel, double-up, triple-up trips between our facility here and City Hall," said Griffin.

They city is trying to do anything to avoid the pump.

"We're with everybody else trying to make sure we're doing what's right for the environment and saving the taxpayers as much money as we can while were at it," said Griffin.

Chula Vista already operates a number of natural gas buses.

The city also has plans to replace its existing fleet of vehicles with hybrid or alternative-fuel vehicles.