Published: Sunday, February 28, 2010
Senators say state planes must go
The Senate budget calls for the sale of two State Patrol aircraft used for shuttling the governor and state prison inmates
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Courtesy Washington State Patrol
This is one of two state-owned King Air B200 planes some Senate Democrats want sold.
OLYMPIA — Some Democratic senators want Gov. Chris Gregoire to sell two state-owned planes used to shuttle her around because they spend more time parked than in flight.
“The governor's jet (sic) is sitting in a hangar 90 percent of the time,” said Sen. Rodney Tom, D-Medina. “Unless the governor is living in that plane, they're not using it enough.”
The Senate budget passed Saturday requires the Washington State Patrol to sell the aircraft assigned to the executive branch by June 30, 2011. Under the provision secured by Tom, proceeds from their sale would be split between the general fund and the State Patrol budget.
Cory Curtis, the governor's spokesman, said the planes are used by more than just the governor and are no luxury items.
“This is not a jet. This is a prop plane. It is the state's plane used by all agencies. State senators have been known to fly in the plane,” he said.
Recently, Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown and Sen. Chris Marr, both Spokane Democrats, joined the governor as they attended an event to mark receipt of federal aid for a major Eastern Washington highway project.
At issue is a pair of eight-seat turboprop King Air B200 aircraft, one built in 1983 and the other in 1995, kept in hangars at the Olympia Airport. The department uses a different plane for its aerial enforcement.
Piloted by licensed state troopers, the planes spent a combined 180 hours in the air in 2009, down from 255 hours in 2008 and 359 hours in 2007. The decline is due in part to reduced funding for operations in the current budget.
Most flights each year involve either taking the governor somewhere or the Department of Corrections delivering convicted criminals to prison or picking up prisoners extradited from other states, said Bob Calkins, a State Patrol spokesman.
For example, he said, one flight this month took correctional officers to Wyoming and Idaho to pick up prisoners. Another recent trip took State Patrol detectives to Astoria, Ore., to work on the investigation of the shooting of a trooper in nearby Long Beach.
Tom contends the plane needs to be in the air 10 hours a day to make it financially worthwhile. He insisted he's not trying to goad the governor; he's trying to make government leaner and more efficient as she's talked of doing herself.
“It's insanity to have that expensive an asset sitting on the ground not being used,” said Tom, who tried to sell the planes last year without success.
He wants to see her follow the path taken by corporate executives and join Net Jets, which would require the state to buy a share of an airplane rather than the whole thing. She can hop a flight when needed and, over time, the state will spend less than it does to maintain aircraft that sit idle most of the time, he said.
Calkins said the plane is used when it is clearly cheaper than driving a car or taking a commercial flight, and when time is a factor because of an emergency such as a crime or a natural disaster.
“It's important they're available to us at all hours of the day and night,” he said. “For a police agency, it's not about the total hours of use. It's about when you need it, you need it.”
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
“The governor's jet (sic) is sitting in a hangar 90 percent of the time,” said Sen. Rodney Tom, D-Medina. “Unless the governor is living in that plane, they're not using it enough.”
The Senate budget passed Saturday requires the Washington State Patrol to sell the aircraft assigned to the executive branch by June 30, 2011. Under the provision secured by Tom, proceeds from their sale would be split between the general fund and the State Patrol budget.
Cory Curtis, the governor's spokesman, said the planes are used by more than just the governor and are no luxury items.
“This is not a jet. This is a prop plane. It is the state's plane used by all agencies. State senators have been known to fly in the plane,” he said.
Recently, Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown and Sen. Chris Marr, both Spokane Democrats, joined the governor as they attended an event to mark receipt of federal aid for a major Eastern Washington highway project.
At issue is a pair of eight-seat turboprop King Air B200 aircraft, one built in 1983 and the other in 1995, kept in hangars at the Olympia Airport. The department uses a different plane for its aerial enforcement.
Piloted by licensed state troopers, the planes spent a combined 180 hours in the air in 2009, down from 255 hours in 2008 and 359 hours in 2007. The decline is due in part to reduced funding for operations in the current budget.
Most flights each year involve either taking the governor somewhere or the Department of Corrections delivering convicted criminals to prison or picking up prisoners extradited from other states, said Bob Calkins, a State Patrol spokesman.
For example, he said, one flight this month took correctional officers to Wyoming and Idaho to pick up prisoners. Another recent trip took State Patrol detectives to Astoria, Ore., to work on the investigation of the shooting of a trooper in nearby Long Beach.
Tom contends the plane needs to be in the air 10 hours a day to make it financially worthwhile. He insisted he's not trying to goad the governor; he's trying to make government leaner and more efficient as she's talked of doing herself.
“It's insanity to have that expensive an asset sitting on the ground not being used,” said Tom, who tried to sell the planes last year without success.
He wants to see her follow the path taken by corporate executives and join Net Jets, which would require the state to buy a share of an airplane rather than the whole thing. She can hop a flight when needed and, over time, the state will spend less than it does to maintain aircraft that sit idle most of the time, he said.
Calkins said the plane is used when it is clearly cheaper than driving a car or taking a commercial flight, and when time is a factor because of an emergency such as a crime or a natural disaster.
“It's important they're available to us at all hours of the day and night,” he said. “For a police agency, it's not about the total hours of use. It's about when you need it, you need it.”
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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