Gas is expensive and the economy is struggling, and one department in Dothan is making changes that will help save the city’s pocket book.

Dothan City Manager Mike West said, "You'll notice that in the police department, the investigative vehicles now, rather than being Crown [Victoria’s] or large cars, they’re now mid-size."

West says in an effort to save money, the police department is switching to mid-size vehicles, saving a nice chunk of change for the city.

Dothan Police Department Chief John Powell said, "We've actually had a reduction of almost 20% in the use of fuel since 2005 because we've changed over the size of the vehicles that we use for investigation."

And, though the cost of gas is going up and the budget is going down, making the switch to smaller vehicles has shown to be a success.

"If you look at the police department, their actually using less fuel today than they were 40 years ago," West added.

The department has a little more than 200 operating vehicles. They continue to look for ways on making changes that can benefit everyone.

"We will look at areas that we can cut back and we'll continue to drive the midsize vehicles as far as the investigations," Powell concluded.

That is something not only the police department and the city can be proud of, but the residents of Dothan as well.

The police department will soon be expecting two smaller vehicles to replace those that use more fuel.