West Virginia Aviation Division has revenue shortfall
From Sunshine Review
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September 22, 2009 West Virginia's Aviation Division is operating with a $2 million revenue shortfall and is looking for the state to rearrange funds to make up for it.[1]
[edit] Fee imbalance
The Legislative Auditor’s Office released a report on September 16, 2009 recommending that the Aviation Division’s revenue shortfall be appropriated by the Legislature instead of through inter-agency fees on automobile fleet rentals.
The Aviation Division is managed by the Department of Administration (DOA) and has this revenue shortfall despite charging agencies for using the state’s five aircrafts. The DOA's Fleet Management Division charges a Fleet Management Administrative Fee of $92 a month to agencies for lease of DOA vehicles in addition to the monthly leasing fee each state agency pays, helping to make up the $2 million shortfall.
Many of the fee-paying agencies either rarely use or never use state aircraft. On the other side, many of the agencies, including Division of Highways, the West Virginia State Police, the Division of Natural Resources, the Division of Forestry, the Department of Agriculture, the Higher Education Policy Commission and the higher education governing boards and their institutions, that use the state’s aircraft are exempt from paying fee.
For example, the Department of Health and Human Resources paid $47,180 in the Fleet Management Administrative Fee in 2008, but logged only 4.1 hours on state aircraft.
The report states:
- “During FY 2007-2009 five agencies (Alcohol Beverage Control Administration, Department of Labor, the Public Service Commission, Division of Motor Vehicles, and Miners Health Safety & Training and Administration) accounted for $1,018,595 in payment of the Fleet Management Administrative Fee. During that time period none of these agencies used the aircraft in the Aviation Division, although they paid 21.87 percent of the total Fleet Management Fees collected.”
- “The fee is inequitable, exceeds the Legislature’s delegation of authority to the DOA, and causes funding to be redistributed away from activities supporting agency mandates toward the funding of the aircraft fleet. Legislative Services legal counsel finds this arrangement inappropriate, stating that the delegation of authority to charge fees granted by West Virginia Code §5A-3-48&52 is expressly tied to vehicle usage and cannot be used for other purposes.”[1]
[edit] External links
- West Virginia's government website
- West Virginia Department of Administration website
- West Virginia Aviation Division website
[edit] References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Document Dump: Aviation Division Rips Off West Virginia," West Virginia Watchdog, September 22, 2009
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