Government: Business Support Hinges on County Willingness to Put Up Funds
In their pitch to find sponsors to support a fire and rescue helicopter, San Diego city officials discovered something is missing from their plan.
According to Brian Fennessy, air operations coordinator for the San Diego Fire Department, they are facing a wait-and-see attitude from potential sponsors.
“We have spoken to a number of people who would be interested if the government would show a financial commitment,” Fennessy said.
That commitment is exactly what county Supervisor Ron Roberts recently sought. The board of directors of the San Diego Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies, or SAFE, which operates freeway call boxes, supported Roberts’ proposal to allocate $1 million each year for the next five years to lease the helicopter.
Roberts, who also sits on the SAFE board, proposed using $5 million of the agency’s $8.6 million surplus. That would cover half the $9 million anticipated to operate the helicopter over five years. The remaining balance would be covered by the cities and agencies that will use the helicopter.
According to local fire officials, the standard rescue unit is the Bell 412-212 Twin Turbo Engine model. The helicopter has a seating capacity for 14 passengers and can be leased, staffed and maintained for about $1.8 million a year.
“If we do receive this money (from SAFE), what it does is it gives us a lot of bargaining power and a little more leverage,” Fennessy said.
Los Angeles County has a fleet of 16 similar helicopters, and Orange County has two.
Right now, San Diego depends on other agencies, like the California Department of Forestry and the U.S. Coast Guard, for its fire and rescue needs.
“If little Riverside County can find a way to do this, I think we can find a way to do this,” Roberts said.
In order to subsidize dollars for the helicopter, SAFE would keep charging the $1 vehicle registration fee used to fund the call box system , the same fee the board planned to suspend.
County Supervisor Bill Horn, also a member of SAFE, argued the board should not go back on its word and retain the fee, even if it’s only $1.
“It’s only $1, but there’s a lot of integrity involved,” Horn said. “This is not the purpose for which we collect this tax.”
Scott Barnett, executive director of the San Diego County Taxpayer’s Association, agreed with Horn, saying SAFE dollars should not be used beyond the installation, operation and maintenance of call boxes.
“To do so, we believe, is a clear violation of the intent and spirit of the SAFE legislation,” Barnett said. “San Diego’s motorists are being assessed to pay for the call box system and unfortunately, there has been significant diversion of SAFE dollars over the years to non-call box projects.”
The SAFE board’s action only sends the item to its budget committee for consideration. The board could vote on whether to actually support funding the helicopter at its May 17 meeting.
