Johnson City Monitors Budget as Gas Prices Soar

Local government takes steps to combat rising fuel costs for city operations.

Apr. 2, 2026 at 11:03pm

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A vibrant abstract illustration composed of overlapping triangles and rectangles in shades of blue, red, and yellow, conceptually representing the financial challenges faced by a city government due to rising fuel costs.Johnson City's strategic fuel budget management helps the city weather the storm of soaring gas prices.Johnson City Today

High gas prices are impacting not just drivers, but also local governments like Johnson City, Tennessee. Assistant City Manager Nick Geis said the city has strategies to manage the rising fuel costs, including a multi-year fuel contract that locks in prices and conservative budgeting. While the city is closely monitoring its budget, Geis expressed confidence that Johnson City will be able to maintain services despite the challenging economic conditions.

Why it matters

As gas prices continue to fluctuate, local governments must find ways to adapt and manage their budgets to ensure they can provide essential services to their communities. Johnson City's approach highlights how municipalities are proactively addressing this issue to minimize the impact on taxpayers.

The details

Johnson City has a fuel contract that spans three years, allowing the city to negotiate a fixed price plus markup rather than buying gas on the spot market. This saves the city an estimated 30-40 cents per gallon compared to the volatile spot prices. The city also budgets conservatively, building in projections for higher gas costs to account for potential price swings.

  • As of Thursday, the average gas price in Washington County, Tennessee was $3.83 per gallon.
  • Johnson City has a three-year fuel contract to manage rising costs.

The players

Nick Geis

The Assistant City Manager of Johnson City, Tennessee who oversees the city's strategies for dealing with high gas prices.

Johnson City

The local government in Johnson City, Tennessee that is monitoring its budget and taking steps to combat the impact of rising fuel costs on city operations.

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What they’re saying

“We do it for a three-year period, and what that does is it negotiates the price plus markup so that we're not buying on the spot, which saves us anywhere from probably 30–40 cents when there's wild swings in the market.”

— Nick Geis, Assistant City Manager

“Pricing is kind of built into our models to account for it. So everybody's feeling comfortable where we are. It's unfortunate, we don't like it, but we're not worried about being able to provide service right now.”

— Nick Geis, Assistant City Manager

The takeaway

Johnson City's proactive approach to managing fuel costs through multi-year contracts and conservative budgeting demonstrates how local governments can adapt to economic challenges and maintain essential services for their communities despite rising prices at the pump.