CROWN POINT | Lake County officials have burned more than $4 million in diesel and gasoline during the past five years, according to fragmented county records obtained by The Times.

They plan to spend an additional $1.2 million this year alone filling up the county government fleet of more than 260 police cars, 150 highway trucks and snowplows, and hundreds more vehicles -- a 27 percent increase despite an otherwise frozen 2008 budget.

Records indicate fuel use hasn't increased significantly, but the price of gasoline -- discounted through bulk purchasing -- jumped in the past five years from $1.07 a gallon to more than $3.08 a gallon as pressure mounted for local government to reduce or eliminate unnecessary travel.

County Surveyor George Van Til ignited public outrage last month when one of his employees was caught on videotape pumping gas into Van Til's private SUV. The incident followed Van Til having given up his county-leased take-home vehicle.

Critical attention shifted last week to Sheriff Rogelio "Roy" Dominguez, who recently traded in his take-home car, a five-year-old GMC Envoy, for a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe, a $38,530 vehicle with roughly the same fuel economy -- about 16 miles to the gallon.

"It is more environmentally friendly," Dominguez said. "It features flexible gas usage. We can buy E-85 (ethanol/gasoline mix) at a savings from our vendor in Crown Point."

The sheriff said a hybrid like a Toyota Prius, which gets 46 miles to the gallon, isn't practical.

"All of the electronic equipment needed in a police car wouldn't fit in an electrical hybrid," Dominguez said. "I need a car that can haul four or five people."

County officials sense the unease and have taken steps to stop the fuel budget from growing even faster.

The Lake County Council passed an ordinance last week forbidding any county official or employee from pumping public gas into their private vehicle.

County employees and officials must have a computerized gas card and access code to use county pumps. There are about 300 card holders at present.

County Commissioner Gerry Scheub said he and other commissioners have forced several high-ranking employees to give up take-home cars, and work is proceeding on a new security system that will prevent future abuse of county gas pumps.

Dominguez said his department -- which accounts for more than 60 percent of the county's gas use -- put so many fuel economy measures into place in 2007 that it returned $131,000 in gas money it didn't need.

"We parked 30 take-home (cars) as recommended by the Good Government Initiative," the sheriff said. "We have retired a number of older, less gas-efficient Crown Victorias and are buying more fuel-efficient Ford Taurus and the Chrysler Chargers, which run on fewer cylinders when they are not in a chase situation."

Lake County Highway Department Superintendent Marcus Malczewski, whose department accounts for more than 30 percent of county gas use, said pump security measures are in place.

He said fuel use is governed by the amount of snowplowing and road repair required annually. He said fuel use usually is consistent from year to year, but weather events can cause short-term spikes.