It affects everything from the price of a cheeseburger or a slice of pepperoni pizza to a ream of copy paper or a 50-pound bag of dog food. That bar of soap or fingernail clippers you're looking at buying also are affected by gas prices.

At Lake Tahoe, the rise in fuel prices - now at or near $4 per gallon - has forced school districts, the police department, city government and agencies such as the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency to significantly alter their budgets for next year. And while many agencies had factored in high gas prices to this year's budgets, some had not considered the severity of the situation.

"When the cost of a gallon of gasoline goes up, it affects many, many things you wouldn't think about," said Chris Janzen, vice president of business services at Lake Tahoe Community College.

Every textbook LTCC students purchase has risen several dollars "because we're getting hammered by freight costs," Janzen said. "Our office supplies, even pens and pencils, have gone up."

As for the college's food services, which are supported through a general fund, there may be tough choices ahead. And it may be more than having to charge more for that $2 slice of pizza, Janzen added.

"The thing is, we have an obligation to our students, and I think our community understands that," he said. "If it wasn't for the generous support of organizations like Tahoe Douglas Rotary, which provides our students scholarships that can offset the price of food and living costs and books, we'd be in trouble."

While some consider it a privilege to attend community college, public school education is mandatory.

And because there's already financial pressure from state governments, the spike in gas prices has made running a school district more difficult.

"If you look at the broad economy and how one thing affects the other, I would say yes, we're hurting," said Holly Luna, chief financial officer for the Douglas County School District.

While the district faces cuts mandated by Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons, gas prices are not factored into the state orders. Yet high fuel prices must be factored into the district's next fiscal-year budget.

Higher gas prices affect transportation costs associated with student activities, because it costs more to bus students to sports events.

With wheat prices rising as much as 30 percent in the past year, the district may have to consider raising school lunch prices as well. Utility prices for next year are being considered, too. The district may pencil in a 5 percent increase for both natural gas and electric costs.

"There's not a whole lot of leeway in our budget," Luna said. "There will be definite increases that we will have to absorb or partially offset. Even with the spike in gas prices, if additional budget cuts are ordered from the state, the district and its students will likely feel the pinch.

"Are we at a crisis yet? No. But if (kindergarten through 12th grade) is asked to make more cuts, then we're looking at a crisis scenario."

Anticipating just such a scenario two years ago, the South Lake Tahoe Police Department purchased 10 sedans to replace its fleet of gas-guzzling SUVs.

The change allowed the department to come in under budget this year on fuel. Police Chief Terry Daniels said some of that can be attributed to fewer officers on the street, but with the department ramping up its force by fall, he expects the department will pay more for fuel this year.

"My goal is to have more officers in the field, so I'm looking at at least a 10 percent increase in gas," Daniels said. "The more officers on the street means the more fuel they are going to use."

The same increase holds true for the city of South Lake Tahoe. The city inserted a projected 10 percent increase in gas prices for all departments when it prepared this year's budget, said City Manager David Jinkens. "In some departments, the number has held, while in fire, for example, we needed to increase the number for midyear," he said.

Budget changes to reflect high gas prices are being felt elsewhere, too. At the TRPA, $12,000 was budgeted last year in fuel costs for its fleet of cars. This year, Operations Manager Carol Watkins will request $15,000.

The agency budgeted $7,000 for mileage reimbursement in 2008 and is requesting the same for the upcoming year. In 2007, the reimbursement budget was $5,000. Cuts were made in other line items to accommodate the increase, Watkins said.

"With the budget cuts made last year and possibly anticipated this year, we are attempting to cut costs wherever possible," she said. "Staff members living in the valley have been encouraged to take the Kingsbury Express, and quite a few are taking it now."