SAGINAW, Mich. -- Tuesday gas prices soared to the $4 mark and there appears to be no end to this milestone in misery.

From citizens commuting to work and picking up children from school, to school districts and police forces, everyone is feeling the pinch at the pump.

Police and sheriff’s departments are never budgeted for the higher gas prices.

Most budget for between $3 and $3.50 a gallon, but not $4. In Saginaw County that means authorities are forced to reduce their fleet of cars by two, write some of their reports in substations instead of returning to headquarters -- anything to reduce overhead.

This is a challenge as police do not want to be seen negatively hurting the county’s road patrol routines or crime fighting ability.

In Bay County, sheriff’s deputies are now parking their cruisers for 10 minutes every hour to help save gas.

While parked the cruisers will monitor traffic and still be involved in crime fighting.

As drivers struggle with the $4 price, state Republicans and Democrats are duking it out over a plan to temporarily suspend Michigan’s sales tax on gas.

The plan only calls for a tax holiday during the summer months and Republicans are for it, but Democrats said the state cannot afford to lose out on the cash accumulated by the tax.

Much of the money government makes on the sales tax on gas goes to fix Michigan’s roadways and infrastructure -- roads that most Michiganders will agree need a lot of work.

While the percentages vary by price -- taxes, both federal and state -- only take up about 12 percent of the cost of a gallon of gas.

The price of crude takes up around 72 percent, while refining and mark-ups take up the rest.