Mon, Apr 05, 2004
Battle Against State Aviation Department Cuts
Take a letter.
The EAA wants all aviators in Illinois to contact their
lawmakers in hopes of forestalling a planned 47-percent reduction
in manpower at the Division Of Aeronautics. "We are asking you to
contact Governor Blagojevich, IL DOT Secretary Timothy Martin and
your local state representatives immediately to protest proposed
funding reductions in the IL Department of Transportation FY 2005
Capital Budget," according to the alert. "Only through significant
grass roots support will this devasting reduction in state funding
be prevented. Do not wait for someone else, do your part for
general aviation, act now."
On March 23, 2004, Governor Blagojevich submitted his Fiscal
Year (FY) 2005 Department of Transportation Capital Budget to the
state House and Senate for consideration. The proposed budget
includes a 47% reduction in personnel for the state Division of
Aeronautics. Currently, the division has a staffing level of 74,
which includes 32 persons in the Flight Department and 42 persons
in the Aeronautics Department. The proposed FY 2005 budget would
reduce the staffing in the Aeronautics Department from 42 to 7 and
would retain the Flight Department manpower staffing level at 32
persons.
"We encourage each of you to contact your state government
officials regarding this issue," says the EAA alert.
The EAA says, under the proposed budget cuts, the following
aviation safety programs are a few of the programs at risk of being
elminated:
- Airport Hazard (tall towers) Zoning program
- Airport Safety Inspection program; the Airport
Improvement/Grant Assistance (AIP) programs
- CFI and Pilot Safety & Education Seminars
- CFI Refresher Seminars; the new Airport Security programs
- Airport Minimum Standards Development programs
- Airport Design & Construction Specification Assistance
programs
One of the primary missions of the IL DOT Division of
Aeronautics is to reduce the overall general aviation accidents and
the fatal general aviation accident levels through their ongoing
airport, airman and mechanic continuing education safety programs.
The proposed 47% reduction in staffing may have a severe
detrimental impact on those rates.
With the current aviation safety programs in place, the Division
of Aeronautics has been instrumental in reducing the number of
fatal accidents in the state from 9 in 2001 to 7 in 2003, even
though the total number of general aviation accidents remained the
same -- 45 in 2001 and 46 in 2003. "Without any of the key aviation
safety programs and/or the staffing to successfully oversee them,
both the number of fatal general aviation accidents and the overall
number of accidents may increase," says the alert.
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