Numbers don’t exactly add up
By Letter to the Editor on October 16, 2019.
Re: “HALO has not been paid per call since one-time grant,” Oct. 3 In 2017 a 1986 BK117 B-2 EMS helicopter S/N 7101 was sold at auction (www.govdeals.com) for US$480,000 (CDN$629,000 at the exchange rate on that date). On July 30, 2018 this machine was registered with mark C-GRLH to the helicopter company Rangeland Helicopters (RLH) that supplies HALO with its helicopter. In 2019 Conklin & de Decker of Texas lists the variable operating costs for a BK 117 owned by Airwork NZ as US$1,226/hr (CDN$1,631/hr at today’s exchange rate). Variable costs for helicopters include fuel, oil, labour costs for maintenance, and allowance for component overhaul. Other common variable costs for aircraft operations such as hangarage and office expenses are to some extent folded into RLH’s two sister aviation operations. On Feb 16, the US Forest Service (https://www.fs.fed.us/) reported that for contracts awarded for the services of BK117 helicopters from Oct. 1 2013 and after to be US$1,970/hr (CDN$2,620/hr at today’s exchange rate). The analysis that follows is based on the above costs cited for the twin engine BK117 but the income to support it is based on donations contributed for the single engine Bell 206L in 2018. HALO wants to increase its budget to $2.6M ostensibly to accommodate the BK. The CRA requires charities to annually file the Registered Charity Information Return. According to HALO’s 2018 return, the amount of the helicopter contract plus fundraising costs is $1.29M. This amount less fundraising costs is $1.25M. This means that HALO is paying its helicopter company for about 470 hours/yr for helicopter time at an hourly rate of $2,620/hr. Memory informs us that for several years, the flying time logged in service of HALO was less than 20 hours/annum. A generous estimate of the annual flight hours actually logged in the service of HALO by RLH is 30 hours. This is equivalent to $41,000/hr. From the $1.25M paid to RLH in 2018, must be subtracted $0.05M for the variable costs, $0.16M for hull insurance (25% of the hull value), $0.1M for passenger liability ($0.02M for $1M liability for each of five seats) and $0.3M for three pilots wages at $0.1M/pilot. In the interests of fairness, we also include 30 hours of fixed costs at $1.6K/hr for training three pilots for 10 hours each for a total of $0.05M. This leaves RLH with a 2018 profit of $0.59M. Total eligible amount of all gifts for which the charity issued tax receipts reported on line 4500 of HALO’s 2018 CRA is $0.55M. Alberta Health under the NDP almost certainly did an analysis similar to this and may well have concluded that to fund HALO was to fund RLH. They still ponied up for $1M. While these numbers have been estimated to favour RLH, they may not be close enough. If so, if HALO will kindly provide proof (and I mean proof) of the facts and we will gladly revise these numbers. Fred Lewis Medicine Hat 13-12
I see that Mr Lewis is off his meds again.
So if HALO’s figure don’t add up then obviously the organisations like STARS who cost over $10 million a year also don’t add up. But good old Fred doesn’t say a word about them.
In fiscal 2019 governments contributed 36.9% to STARS to fund their THREE AB bases. They averaged 8 missions per day. A gross underestimate of the flying time per mission is 1 hour or 2.9K hours per year. They actually do something. STARS owns all their helicopters. There are no third parties involved. Money donated to STARS stays with STARS.
Their machines and pilots are IFR qualified. Crewing the helicopter 24/365 requires 8 pilots on staff.
Two pilots are always on board as well as a nurse and paramedic who are on standby at the helicopter with the pilots. Very often a physician accompanies them.
STARS machines are stocked with blood and carry an ultrasound machine.
While Medicine Hat doctors, nurses and paramedics are all trained to the same very high standards as those in Calgary, STARS delivers its patients to the Foothills Hospital which is a Level I trauma centre whereas Medicine Hat is a Level III. Level III centres are expected to secondarily transfer the majority of the major trauma caseload requiring the more complex services provided by Level I and II centres. Patients requiring subsequent transfer from Medicine Hat to Calgary may experience life threatening delay before receiving the complex care they require.
Harry Smith sounds suspiciously like a pseudonym. Anonymity is the refuge of cowards. Only the ignorant engage in ad hominem attacks.