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Governor Steve Beshear's Communications Office
Governor Beshear announces sale of two state aircraft
Sale is a part of ‘Smart Government Initiative’ to save tax dollars
FRANKFORT, Ky.– Governor Steve Beshear today announced plans to sell two aircraft from the Commonwealth’s air fleet as a part of his ongoing Smart Government Initiative (SGI). Selling the aircraft is a cost-saving action the Governor will take as a result of SGI, a top-to-bottom yearlong examination of state government operations and processes to find additional opportunities to save taxpayer dollars and make state government more efficient.
“Today I to continue my efforts to make Kentucky government efficient and lean by putting these two planes up for sale on eBay,” said Gov. Beshear. “However, this is about more than selling these two planes. Since taking office, I have cut more than a billion dollars out of the state budget, and created the smallest state government in a generation. In the coming months, I will continue to announce further efficiency measures developed by my Smart Government Initiative in order to ensure the smartest use of taxpayer dollars.”
Selling of State Aircraft
The aircraft, which Gov. Beshear displayed during a news conference at the Capital City Airport in Frankfort, are a twin-engine, 1975 Piper Navajo and a single-engine, 1967 Cessna Skyhawk. The Finance and Administration Cabinet’s Division of Surplus Property will offer the planes for public sale on eBay.com, the online auction site.
The Navajo was previously operated by the Kentucky State Police. The Kentucky Department of Aviation acquired it as surplus property in 1997. The Cessna, previously operated by Somerset Community College, was acquired through surplus in 1998.
Kentucky Transportation Secretary Mike Hancock said overall use of the air fleet has declined during the Beshear administration. “We believe the Navajo and the Cessna can be sold without adversely affecting the mission of the Department of Aviation,” Hancock said.
To view the planes, visit the Division of Surplus Property’s eBay store at http://stores.ebay.com/kysurplus.
The Division of Surplus Property has generated $628,750 in revenue from eBay sales since it began utilizing the site to sell surplus state items in 2009. The eBay store was launched in January 2010 in conjunction with SGI.
Smart Government Initiative
In January 2010, Gov. Beshear launched SGI to conduct a detailed review of state government, with a specific focus on property management, delivery of business solutions, and reviews of information technology, state cars and trucks, and postal services and procurement.
Last year, as part of SGI, a savings of over $900,000 was achieved when the Commonwealth sought a reduction in leases with private landlords throughout the state. Agencies were also required to consolidate any excess office space. In addition, the state realized a savings of $1.1 million by redistributing the assignment of or selling state-owned vehicles. The number of permanently assigned vehicles has been reduced by 17.2 percent since 2008 and the overall number of vehicles maintained by the Division of Fleet Management has been reduced by 8.8 percent since 2008. Since the beginning SGI, the Office of Procurement Services estimates a savings $7.2 million through contract renegotiations and rebidding.
“Improvements and efficiencies already implemented through SGI have resulted in significant savings for the Commonwealth and we’ll continue to work on implementing other recommendations in the coming months,” said Gov. Beshear. “Smart Government is not an initiative that will soon be forgotten, but is a part of my ongoing effort to change the culture in state government.”
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