Title
Gainesville Police Department and Alachua County Sheriff Office Joint Aviation Unit (B)
Explanation
Gainesville Police Department and Alachua County Sheriff Office jointly fund and staff the Joint Aviation Unit. The City of Gainesville provides two sworn officers (full salaries and benefits) and training for their pilot certifications. The City shares equally for the maintenance of the aircraft.
The City's current helicopter is damaged and cannot be flown. The Alachua County Sheriff Office funds the program primarily through county-wide dollars which Gainesville neighbors and businesses pay. The City funds our share from the General Fund. No other municipality in the County has been asked for (or makes) any funding contribution. The Joint Aviation Unit's call volume is 48% within the City.
The concept is that the Joint Aviation Unit is funded 50% from the City and 50% from ACSO. According to documents provided by Alachua County, ACSO’s portion is funded 90% from the County General Fund and 10% from the County MSTU. 46.7% of property taxes received by Alachua County are generated from properties inside the City of Gainesville. Therefore, it can be determined that 71% of the funding for the Joint Aviation Unit is derived from sources within the City of Gainesville.
At the March 5, 2020 City Commission meeting, the City Commission expressed a desire to discuss a more equitable funding solution with the County Commission.
The GPD helicopter remains unusable. Cost to convert the spare ACSO helicopter (which would need to be purchased from ACSO for $1,000) is estimated at about $250,000 to $275,000. Insurance proceeds are estimated at $219,000, leaving $31,000 to $56,000 to be funded from forfeiture funds. Additionally, the FLIR unit is operations, but end of life, and will need to be replaced by FY24 at an approximate cost of $500,000.
Fiscal
The fiscal detail breakdown for the Aviation Unit:
Pilot Salaries: ...
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