The Onondaga County Sheriff's Office is seeking a significant allocation for vehicles that roll and fly. Lawmakers are considering the request as they continue to review the county executive’s budget proposal.
The sheriff’s Air One helicopter is 25 years old, and Sheriff Toby Shelley has made it a priority to replace the helicopter since he took office nearly two years ago. It’s responded to nearly one thousand calls over the last ten years.
“I think it's more than justified with the calls it takes. I know the public is firmly behind our aviation program," Shelley told county lawmakers during a budget review meeting. "To give a visual example, my cell phone has more technology than our current helicopter.”
The county’s capital improvement plan director Dan Mulvihill says the current helicopter has a trade-in value of $1.2 million, while a new one costs more than $6 million. They’ve budgeted nearly a half million dollars for maintenance and repairs for next year and will likely ask for a bond to pay for a new helicopter in 2026.
“The asset is constantly depreciating," Mulvihill said. "So we really have to ask ourselves at a point where does it become a better idea to replace the vehicle as opposed to continuing to service it while its value is constantly depreciating.”
Sheriff Shelly wants to take the same approach with patrol vehicles; replace them before they get too expensive to maintain and have little resale value. He’s asking for more vehicles in the budget to start updating the fleet.
“When you have 230 cars and you're only trying to replace 23 of them last year, I think we got 17, that really doesn't get the fleet where it needs to be," Shelley said. "And my argument would be if we get the fleet to where it needs to be, we will have higher trade-in value, spend less on maintenance, a better fleet for less money. But that's going to take startup money.”
Shelley says it’s more cost-effective to turn in the cars at 70,000 miles than to wait until they’re rusted through with 180,000 miles. The legislature’s Ways and Means committee issues its report on the budget Thursday. A public hearing is scheduled for Oct. 3 at 5:30 on the fourth floor of the courthouse on Montgomery St. A final vote takes place Oct. 8.
Editors note: Sound of the helicopter used in this story is courtesy of the Sheriff's Facebook Page.
