GENESEE COUNTY
Mercy Flight fails to win more funding
BATAVIA — Despite a plea for more financial aid and a history of twice as many helicopter medical transfers, Mercy Flight of Western New York on Wednesday failed to win more funding from the Genesee County Legislature, which allocated $15,000 to the rescue service in its 2009 budget.
The Cheektowaga-based airlift service last month requested $20,000, double the amount paid earlier in this decade. The $15,000 grant first came in 2006 and Mercy Flight leased its own hangar at the county airport. At the time, the medical transfer service estimated the new location could cut response time by as much as 30 minutes.
Mercy Flight has round-the-clock service from the airport in the Town of Batavia, and has several employees who live in the area. It is also estimated that the helicopters use about $7,000 in fuel purchased at the airport.
