ANDERSON — The city is expected to pay more than $400,000 more on fuel this year, John Connell, fleet manager at the city garage, reported to the Board of Public Works on Monday.

Connell said rising gas and diesel prices were the reason for the price jump.

“Gas usage has gone up considerably,” he added, noting that he wasn’t sure why employees were using more gas.

In 2006, Connell estimated the city used 183,000 gallons of gas, and in 2007, that jumped to 199,000 gallons, he said. The city used 80,258 gallons of diesel in 2007, which was not much higher than the year prior, Connell said.

Greg Graham, chairman of the board, said he was “blown away” by the price jump, which will be pushed to over $1 million. Graham said he would be working with others in the city to figure out ways to minimize the use of gas.

The city held a contract with Worrell Petroleum, of Markleville, for its fuel in 2006 and 2007. No one from the company was available to comment on Tuesday.

This year, Petroleum Traders, of Fort Wayne, submitted a more cost-effective bid, Connell said. Two other bidders — Harvest Land Co-op of Richmond and Jackson Oil and Solvents of Indianapolis — also came in higher than Petroleum Traders.

The fuel will be used for all city vehicles except for the Parks and Recreation Department and the City of Anderson Transit System, which have their own bidding processes.

Gary Smith, assistant service manager at the city garage, said that contract goes for fuel for about 700 units, including sewer equipment, light and power equipment and other small equipment plus the vehicles used in all city departments.