MISSOURI'S AIR ARMADA: WHAT'S THE COST?

With a growing number of airplanes at their disposal, state bureaucrats and some members of state-department boards are ferrying about the state and elsewhere on official business to the tune of what has to be several million dollars a year.

With so many airplanes, state Rep. David Schwab of Jackson and other members of the House Budget Committee are concerned about the cost to taxpayers. The problem is they don't know exactly how much all of these airplanes are actually costing Missourians.

The committee has been struggling to identify all the costs, which aren't detailed in the state budget. State agencies have been asked to provide the figures to the committee, but they haven't all done so yet.

At last count, 28 aircraft were assigned to four state agencies. The governor's Office of Administration alone spends about $700,000 a year to operate a jet and two twin-engine planes, the Conservation Department owns four aircraft, the Department of Transportation operates three airplanes, and the Highway Patrol operates the other 18 airplanes, including four helicopters.

Decisions on use of the planes should be made on the basis of efficiency and economy, yet the aircraft regularly fly Missouri's departments of conservation, mental health and transportation commission members to and from meetings. In 1998, the state spent nearly $19,000 alone to fly mental health commissioners to and from their meetings. Those uses can hardly be considered efficient and economic, but rather a convenience to the commissioners.

The Office of Administration last year purchased a new $3.3 million Cessna Citation jet that is used to carry Gov. Mel Carnahan and others around the state and nation. From November to March, the plane made 15 round-trips between Jefferson City and St. Louis, and another six to Kansas City. It also made several trips to Washington, D.C., and cost the state more than $32,000, not including the cost of salaries for pilots.

Schwab complained that unlike most other state operations there is no legislative budget oversight of state air transportation. He and state Rep. Charles Shields of St. Joseph, who serves on the Budget Committee with Schwab, suggested Missouri could make more efficient use of its aircraft if it consolidated flight operations under a single department. And House Speaker Steve Gaw of Moberly is considering appointment of an interim committee to explore the issue.

The Legislature is entitled to an accurate accounting of the cost of operating the state's aircraft, what specifically they are used for and who is using them. If the trend continues, the fleet will continue to grow, and it is time to implement some guidelines to prevent abuses of aircraft uses.