"Green" mandate for government vehicles

At the recent Fire District 13 Commissioners meeting, Fire Chief Roy Horn quipped to his board that he needs $5 million to replace all the districts fire trucks.

While that was a joke, there really is an issue that all local agencies need to come up to speed on.

A law enacted by the state Legislature nearly 10 years ago states that starting June 1, 2018 all local governments must shift 100 percent of their vehicles from gasoline to biodiesel or electricity.

According to the legislation, every fire truck, police car, school bus and public works vehicle must run on something besides fossil fuel....