BISBEE — When the new budget year started in July, City Manager Steve Pauken was determined to start the city on a fuel savings path. Now it’s apparent that city staff has indeed made a difference.

In Pauken’s report to the council Tuesday night, he provided a three-month print-out with a comparison of fuel costs from the same period in 2008. Though he set a goal of 10 percent savings, as of the end of September, city vehicles used 13 percent less fuel translating into nearly $6,000 saved over the past three months.