LAWRENCE, Ind. -- Rising gas prices are fueling a debate about the use of city-owned vehicles, with some suggesting they should be parked when officers and firefighters are off the clock.

Dave Parnell, a city councilman, advocates a simple solution to save gas and money amid prices near $4 a gallon, WRTV in Indianapolis reported.

A 2004 city ordinance banned take-home vehicles for all departments, except public safety, but it hasn't been enforced, Parnell said. He wants it to be both enforced and expanded to include police and fire vehicles.

"I think we can save nearly $100,000 a year," Parnell said.

Parnell contends that a lot of money is spent on employees driving city-owned vehicles to their out-of-city homes and to run errands.

"We've got people that live outside the city that work for the city that are driving cars," Parnell said. "You know, nobody buys my gas. Why should we buy their gas?"

Parnell considers personal use of city vehicles useless spending, with taxpayers footing the bill, but Lawrence Mayor Paul Ricketts said he thinks parking vehicles to save on gas could hinder public safety.

"I don't think we should handicap the police department. They are allowed by state statute to live outside the county," Ricketts said. "We're watching very closely how much gas they do consume, and I think the men are very conscientious. They have pulled back on the amount of gas they use."

Some officers who live outside city limits pay a $15 to $20 fee from each paycheck to offset costs.

Parnell said the money saved by banning take-home vehicles could be put to good use.

"Why can't we pave our streets with that? We have streets that we can't get to because we don't have enough money in this year's budget," Parnell said.

The city plans to address the issue on Thursday.