April 21--The Sonoma County sheriff's helicopter program is in jeopardy following a cost-cutting move that could end the lease with the airport where the helicopter is housed.
The Sheriff's Office notified Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport officials in a Tuesday letter that they will vacate the property by July 1, airport officials said.
The Henry 1 helicopter, which costs about $1.8 million annually, is "currently on the chopping block," Assistant Sheriff Lorenzo Duenas said Wednesday. However, it could still be saved before the budget is finalized for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins in July,
Sheriff's officials said they are trying to save as many jobs as possible as they struggle to slash 25 percent from the budget to meet demands from the Sonoma County Administrator's Office.
"Any program that would jeopardize jobs will be considered," Duenas said.
"That's why that letter went out, to give the airport a heads up to say this potentially could occur," Duenas said. "But (the budget) is a moving target. This is not a done deal."
The letter led airport officials to believe the program would definitely move out of the hangar, which sits at the end of Becker Boulevard beyond the Pacific Coast Air Museum.
Airport staff visited the hanger early Wednesday and told the crew they were inspecting the building to prepare to find a new tenant.
The news surprised and "devastated" the crew of Henry 1, the sheriff's Bell 407 helicopter, and launched a flurry of phone calls to the Sheriff's Office.
A sheriff's analyst later called airport staff to ask if she could withdraw the letter, said Jon Stout, airport manager. She said negotiations between the the county administrator and sheriff's offices were ongoing.
"They wouldn't elaborate, just that they were trying to see if there are ways to preserve the funding for it," Stout said.
Stout said he was surprised when he learned the office would give up its lease.
"I know that the helicopter unit is a valuable asset to the sheriff, but I also know that it's a very expensive operation," Stout said.
Cutting the program would save $1.8 million, the approximate cost of running the program for a year, Sheriff Steve Freitas said in March.
The cut would help the Sheriff's Office meet the demands faced by all county departments to make cuts to help address an impending $42.3 million general fund deficit for the next fiscal year, which begins in July.
"It's serious right now, but we won't know the final answer until May or June," Freitas said.
Stout initially agreed to provide a copy of the letter ending the sheriff's lease with the airport to The Press Democrat late Wednesday. In a subsequent email, he said he would withhold the letter, a public record, and wait for permission from the Sheriff's Office to release it.
The Press Democrat filed a public records request for the letter Wednesday evening.
Calls to County Administrator Veronica Ferguson were not returned.
The Sheriff's Office has leased the helicopter hangar the the airport since 1986, Stout said. It's a month-to-month lease and is usually paid a year in advance.
The Henry One crew flew 903 flights between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010. Of those, 55 percent were for law enforcement missions, 18 percent were search and rescue flights and just under 7 percent were for medical emergencies.
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