A Budget in the Hole keeps Choppers in the Sky
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009 By Lynn WalshPolice equipment costs are adding to the City of Columbus’ budget hole again this year.
According to a report provided to City Council in 2007, the Columbus Division of Police’s helicopter fleet is the third largest of any police helicopter fleet in the country. The City even seems to be in disagreement about just how many choppers make up the fleet. One report links the city to owning eight helicopters, six of which are operational and another two that are held in storage.
A 2008 report from the City Auditor cites seven fully operational helicopters. City Council approved the purchase of a new helicopter in 2007, which cost tax payers $1,356,545. If each helicopter cost around $1.3 million, the city has spent between $9.1 and $10.4 million on purchasing helicopters. In addition, the city has $1.7 million worth of insurance on each helicopter.
However, those figures do not include the cost of operating every helicopter. In a report to City Council, the division claims to fly a helicopter in the air 16 hours a day, 365 days a year. That is more than 5,800 hours a year. According to a manual on the manufacturer’s website, it costs $375/hour to operate a McDonnell Douglass MD500E. Therefore, the cost of operating one helicopter at that rate is $2.19 million a year.
However, the claim that helicopters are used 16 hours per day is inconsistent with the numbers in the department’s budget this year. Only $248,000 has been appropriated for fuel costs this year, but as of June 23, 2009, not a single penny of that money has been spent. So far this year, the department has spent $100,000 on maintaining and servicing its fleet.
Does the City own “hybrid” helicopters that don’t require fuel, or is the fleet not being used as regularly as the Division claims?
