With the cost of gasoline making a dent in budgets and pocketbooks, several communities, school districts and businesses in Northwest Indiana are following the IRS-approved mileage reimbursement rate.

The Internal Revenue Service increased its rate last month from 50.5 cents to 58.5 cents.

Similarly, the town of Munster passed a rate in line with IRS regulation raising its mileage reimbursement rate to 58.5 cents.

Munster Clerk-Treasurer Dave Shafer said town employees who are required to use their personal vehicles for business purposes get a reimbursement in line with the cost of gasoline.

For example, Shafer said he has had to use his car to drive to Indianapolis to talk with legislators or attend a meeting.

East Chicago school Treasurer Frank Ramirez said the district also is in line with the federal reimbursement rate. He said school officials go online to check the number of miles a trip to the bank or Indianapolis is and determine the reimbursement level based on those numbers. He said teachers, as well as administrators, are allowed reimbursement when they use their cars to get to conferences or other school-related activities.

Damian Rico, spokesman for East Chicago, said the city's reimbursement rate is 44 cents per mile.

Amber Raza, a spokeswoman for the Methodist Hospitals, and Nick Meyer, a spokesman with NIPSCO, said their companies use the federal rate. Matt Ruess, Crown Point schools chief financial officer, also said the district reimburses at the federal rate.

Gary school spokeswoman Charmella Greer said the district doesn't use the federal rate and reimburses school officials at 31 cents per mile, one of the lowest reimbursement rates in the area.

However, the numbers add up.

A Times review of Gary school records indicates that Gary School Board member Darren Washington, who has taken many trips to Indianapolis to meet with legislators, charged the district $96.10 for each trip he took. He traveled to Indianapolis at least 25 times between April 2007 and January, collecting $2,402.50 in mileage reimbursement.

Times staff writer Christine Kraly contributed to this report.