TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) — For some small business owners in Tallahassee, every job starts with a cost they can't control: diesel. And with local diesel prices now above $6 a gallon, at least one business owner says he sometimes has to absorb the extra cost just to keep customers.
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Kurtis Miller owns Gorilla Land Preservation, a local excavation company. Diesel powers the equipment his crews use on every job — and lately, filling those machines has become a lot more expensive.
Miller says what once cost him about $75 to $85 can now run $150 to $160.
"It's been a major impact because in the process, you know, in the moments of fuel going up, it's hard to get the customers to understand that. A lot of times we have to eat the cost of that, you know, the fuel costs and stuff like that in the process of doing these jobs," Miller said.
AAA puts the average price of diesel in Tallahassee at about $6.16 a gallon. A year ago, it was about $3.59. That's an increase of more than 70-percent.
Miller isn't the only one feeling that squeeze. Leon County's June budget workshop shows fuel costs for public works and EMS increased 75-percent collectively from April 2025 to April 2026 — fuel used to keep road crews moving and emergency vehicles responding.
Miller says he can't control what diesel costs, and passing that extra expense on to his customers isn't always an option.
"Sometimes you don't get a response. Sometimes you just don't even say it. You just eat the cost and keep going," Miller said.
Diesel prices can change daily. ABC 27 will continue tracking what those higher costs mean for local businesses and the taxpayer-funded services that also depend on fuel.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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