Panel says state can save money by selling planes : News-Record.com : Greensboro & the Triad's most trusted source for local news and analysis

RALEIGH — North Carolina could save money in the short and long terms if it sold 25 aircraft from its 72-aircraft fleet, according to a report by legislative staff.

Most of the planes recommended for sale by the General Assembly’s watchdog group, the Program Evaluation Division, belong to the Division of Forest Resources.

“I think it’s obvious we need to get on with doing this,” said Rep. Hugh Holliman, a Lexington Democrat and the majority leader in the House. “I think it absolutely just makes sense.”

Under a plan put forward by the division, the state would reap more than $8 million from selling little-used aircraft.

Evaluators projected that the state would save more than $1 million every year after that by forgoing maintenance costs, consolidating hangars and staff. The division also recommended eliminating 10 pilot and six mechanic positions.

The committee of lawmakers that oversees the Program Evaluation Division recommended that their colleagues adopt the staff recommendations, despite push-back from some of the agencies affected.

“Our plane is used to shift resources statewide at a moment’s notice,” said Robin Pendergraft, who heads the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation.

Two of the three planes used by the SBI are used primarily for missions such as looking for marijuana . A third aircraft, which the division recommended for elimination, is a twin-engine King Air used to transport law enforcement officers and prisoners.

Pendergraft said federal restrictions on handcuffing prisoners and carrying firearms makes transporting prisoners on commercial flights impractical.

“I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my daughter flying next to a murderer,” Pendergraft said.

Other lawmakers were concerned that the deepest cuts would be to the air fleet used to fight forest fires by the Division of Forest Resources.

Evaluators said they recommended the cuts because the aircraft flew less than 200 hours per year, a threshold looked at by industry experts in determining whether an aircraft is worth keeping.

“I’m glad they don’t fly more than they do,” said Rep. David Lewis, a Harnett County Republican. Eliminating the planes, he said, wouldn’t make sense if millions of dollars of property were lost to a forest fire.

The General Assembly session begins May 12. Although the division’s report was adopted by the committee, it will be up to the legislature’s budget writing committees to decide whether to enact the recommendations.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker @news-record.com

rooster8786

April 29, 2010 - 5:20 pm EDT

What's wrong with sitting next to a shackled, escorted murderer? What about the unshackled unescorted pedophile that might be sitting next to her? Way to inflame the taxpayers. If 2 of your 3 planes are used to find marijuana, get rid of the planes and put some of the overweight sedentary SBI agents on their feet in comfortable walking shoes.

danleehill

April 29, 2010 - 8:42 pm EDT

Man, you said a lot,,,right on....fat SBI,,,lol

Illiterati

April 29, 2010 - 5:41 pm EDT

I don't want my daughter flying next to any politicians, shackled or otherwise.

newkid

April 29, 2010 - 7:13 pm EDT

Seventy-two effin' planes? Are they kidding?

majorcat

April 29, 2010 - 7:31 pm EDT

first off with the sorry state that we are in i would sell off the jets and the prop aircraft the the governor and the use for their personly use, the governor can use a thing called a Automobile to go to meetings around the state as well look at tea pots to add to her collection and the state Legislators can use their personal cars to drive their girlfriends to their beach house to cheat on their wifes.

as for the sbi flying Prisoners around thats why we have the prisoner transfer bus and vans going up and down the highways, if they have to transfer that Prisoner out of state that falls under the feds Jurisdiction via con air.

selling off the Forestry fire protection aircarft is like letting stupid out of the box, only a buffoon would even think of that.we may not need them now ,but we may need next year.

the state having their own aircraft searching for marjauna once again thats why we have the feds flying over our heads in helicopters, and with saying that if the state can remove or reduce it then i am all up for it.

then there is the aircraft that the state highway patrol uses for highway speed enforcement..sell sell sell

heres a grand idea cut the pay of ALL state Legislators by 20% we the people of north carolina sure have been doing it they should see whats it like....

April 29, 2010 - 8:43 pm EDT

You are so right,,,,,,,,

buzzman

April 29, 2010 - 11:54 pm EDT

Obviously some problem with the numbers in the article. If there are 72 aircraft, 10 pilots can't possibly fly all those and 6 mechanics can't maintain them. Go back and do some research. While you're at it, find out the exact make and model of each of the 72 aircraft and what each is supposedly used for.
Having flown planes owned and operated by another state, I can confirm that there is an awful lot of unnecessary personal flying done at the expense of the taxpayer.
Fire protection aircraft are needed and the governor needs a propjet (KingAir mentioned would be sufficient). Everything else is unnecessary.

flyer

April 30, 2010 - 10:26 pm EDT

Just as obviously, you didn´t read the article carefully. They are not saying that is the staff now, they are saying that this would be the proposed number of staff positions cut, if they adopt the recommendation. Does sound like a lot of aircraft for a smallish State, and the points made regarding prisoner transfers, marijuana searches etc sound about right. There is a huge amount of waste in every bureaucracy and they are self-sustaining. . . often losing sight of why they were created in the first place.

fyrflyr

April 30, 2010 - 2:56 pm EDT

Yeah, sell the forestry aircraft. And while there at it, might as well sell a bunch of fire trucks, especially the one's at the slower stations. Kinda like the people of San Diego a few years back. Did'nt want a small fire tax increase because they lived in the city. Guess where the majority of the homes were that burned in the last BIG fires.

pilot

May 1, 2010 - 11:16 am EDT

As a pilot and aircraft owner in Western North Carolina, I know that aircraft fulfill some vital missions that cannot be accomplished from the ground. The Dept. of Forestry especially needs the ability to access aircraft. In this area of the state there are few roads in mountainous areas so aircraft are a necessity. From the ground you cannot locate a forest fire as easily as from the air and it takes hours longer to get there in wilderness areas. During that time the fire can spread dramatically. Even in non-wilderness areas, aircraft allow you to travel 3 or more times faster than ground vehicles. That's important in time-critical missions. Weather becomes a limiting factor, but traffic congestion is not. It's a mistake to look at the value of aircraft strictly in terms of financial cost saving. If only one mission saves thousands of acres of forest, property and lives, then the cost of idle aircraft is justified. However, it might be possible for the Dept. of Forestry and other departments to save taxpayer money by contracting out some aerial missions instead of maintaining so many of their own pilots and aircraft. Keeping aircraft and pilots maintained and trained when idle is expensive.

eX-n.cARolinIAN

May 3, 2010 - 1:06 am EDT

If state income is a problem, then they should start taxing child support received. Especially, when the money is used for alcohol, parties and paying for thing not towards the children. This state is notorious for charging the non-custodian parent enormous amount of child support without justification of need. Also, hit up on lawyers that don't follow up on following state laws and fixing rates. I had my share of NC and living in any other state is best, especially the cost of living. So continue taking from the areas that are needed, and spending aimlessly. I don't expect any improvement soon...

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