Cops snub local pilot
(CNS): The pilot and owner of Cayman Islands Helicopters says his firm tried everything it could to accommodate the RCIPS’ needs over the maintenance of its helicopter but the police, not CIH, terminated negotiations. Jerome Begot flew around 528 hours for the RCIPS between 2004 and 2008, charged at cost and as a priority over the profit making arm of his business but the police have snubbed him over the contract. He also hired a specialist engineer at the RCIPS management’s request and was led to believe his firm would be maintaining the machine when it came to Cayman. However, despite revising his proposals several times and making it as inexpensive as possible the police cut off negotiations in October and opted to use a US based firm instead until it can recruit its own engineer.
A spokesperson for the RCIPS recently told CNS that the cost proposed by CIH was excessive and not value for money, leading to the decision to keep the contract with Arrow Aviation LLC, a Louisiana based company that did the original work after the helicopter was purchased until an engineer was recruited. However, Begot, who has been involved in the operation and maintenance of helicopters for over 16 years, disputed the RCIPS position and voiced concerns that there is no need for the helicopter to leave the island for maintenance as his firm was not offering an unreasonable deal.
Over the years that Begot flew for the RCIPS he made a number of personal sacrifices to make himself available to the police whenever they needed him, effectively being on standby for four years. He willingly took on the engineer recommended by the RCIPS in 2007, despite the fact that it took almost three years before the helicopter arrived in Cayman. The police also fell into arrears with CIH over the four years Begot flew for them, with the firm subsidising the police at times for amounts in excess of $150,000, despite the fact that he received no profit or interest.
As the only bidder in response to the request for proposals when the helicopter finally arrived, Bergot said his firms entered into negotiations with the RCIPS. The initial request from the RCIPS via the tender was to provide all maintenance services to the aircraft, to be responsible for all base and line maintenance requirements, deal with administrative matters and to ensure that the maintenance schedules met the requirements of the aircraft’s manufacturer and Cayman Islands law. It would have also required CIH to represent the RCIPS in relation to any service to be provide in connection with the engines of the aircraft and the engine manufacturers and to prepare various scopes of work that would normally be provided by the aircraft maintenance provider.
“On top of this we were also required to maintain and update all of the administrative aspects of operating the aircraft, including matters such as maintenance schedules, quality planning, air worthiness directives, and to carry out such additional maintenance services as recommended,” Begot revealed. “This scope of works, which is essentially a full maintenance contract, is an expensive contract. Aircraft, particularly helicopters, are expensive to maintain. That is a simple fact of life.”
CIH priced the scope of works for two scenarios, firstly for a contract for a two-year period and a contract for a one-year period. “Our initial bid for the one-year contract was CI$510,000.00 and CI$819,500.00 for a two-year contract,” Begot told CNS. “These quotes, whilst obviously expensive, are in fact very reasonable.”
In comparison, he explained, the MRCU fixed wing aircraft budgets around CI$500,000 for its scheduled maintenance, which is provided by their own employees.
“In my meetings with the RCIPS I was led to believe that these quotes were certainly within their budget, although the RCIPS was keen to see them reduced if that was possible,” he explained. “In March 2010 we were requested to provide a quote for a much reduced and revised scope of works. In light of the reduced scope we put forward bids of CI$315,625.00 and CI$441,375.00 for one and two year contracts respectively.”
Having been led to believe that the initial bid was within the police budget, the revised must have also been within the money set aside for maintaining the machine. However, Begot said he was asked to re-price a further revised and reduced scope of work and the final proposal provided to the police last September was for CI$195,000 per annum.
“We were led to believe by the head of their air wing, Mr Fitzgerald, that the pricing was acceptable as were our attorney’s comments on the agreement. Mr Fitzgerald advised me that he would push to allow CIH to start as soon as possible,” Begot stated.
It was then, Bergot revealed, that he received correspondence from Fitzgerald that a member of the RCIPS Gold Command had taken objection to the negotiations as they had not included the possibility of the RCIP having their own aircraft maintenance department.
“Obviously, if the RCIPS wish to have their own self contained air wing, we would have no part to play in that and therefore there would be absolutely no need to have any negotiations with a third party service provider if the RCIPS’ real wish was to employ its own aircraft engineers and maintenance personnel,” the helicopter pilot said. Nevertheless, a short time later the firm was advised that the matters were in fact moving ahead towards a contract with CIH based on its last offer. Then, in October Bergot received an email from Fitzgerald saying the police would not be contracting CIH and the firm has not heard from the RCIPS, the portfolio or government since.
“In light of the history of our dealings with the RCIPS and the premier’s recent statement that government would attempt to assist the local economy by dealing primarily with local providers wherever possible, we are surprised by this turn of events,” Begot said. “It was not a case of us not being able to come to terms with them. We facilitated their needs until the end. Throughout the negotiations, which lasted almost a year, we understood all our quotes to have been ‘within budget’. The RCIPS simply terminated negotiations with us.”
Begot states that while he has his own reasons to be disappointed, the cost of bringing in maintenance engineers from the US on a regular basis to maintain the helicopter and of sending the helicopter overseas is far more than the quotes he gave and is, furthermore, an unnecessary loss of the machine to the police crime fighting arsenal.
See latest RCIPS comment regarding the helicopter maintenance below
Category: Headline News
Two simple tethered BLIMPS with look down radar covers 90% of the use of this helicopter. Add a few cameras and heat sensors and you cover it all.
All at a fractionof cost. Sell the helicopter and buy the Blimps.
They’ll work well in a nor’wester!
I hope the public can see by all the recent articles and polls on the RCIPs that a higher standard is required starting with the top cammender’s leadership – Mr. Baines is not the man for the job and before any more funds is thrown to the wind the people must demand a review of the service. i have a feeling the people are in for a surprise if it is left to continue in the direction its’ heading without the proper intervention. this can’t be left to the UK to do. this must take place by the caymanian people.
I gotta be really critical here: The initial bid by CIH to the Police was $500,000 a year and because of the Commissioner and his team rejecting it the figures ended up down to $195,000. So you fools supporting CIH think about it. The man was willing to rip the people of the Cayman Islands over $305,000 a year extra had the Commissioner not push back and reject the initial offer. So you gotta wonder who has the people at heart here. I know I blast the Commissioner at times but this time I gotta give him credit. HE DID THE RIGHT THING PEOPLE!! Think about it. So it leads me to wonder just how much lower CIH would have gone. Remember they are a business so they would do nothing for free. There has to be some small profit in there.
CNS: As the article clearly states, the reduced costs were for contracts with reduced scope of work.
This whole article clearly went right over the top of your head, didn’t it?? Please see the CNS note to your comment. The article clearly states the SOW was revised in an effort to reduce the cost!!! Really people… read and understand before making yourself look stupid and ignorant!
You were so eager to be so critical you missed the part where the proposal was reduced in line with the revised scope of works!! Ignorance is a dangerous thing!
You are all missing the point here. From what I can see, the police are to employ there own engineer – which is recognised to be the most cost effective way to maintain the helicopter, as you pay the engineers salary and no third party on costs. As for sending the helicopter away, that is the way most operators do business. It will be out of service regardless of where it is. Not sure why this is a contentious story. If a engineer is paid $80,0000 (which is high, but I don’t know what they are paying), then the RCIPS have saved over $100,000. So the problem is? The evidence is they tried. As for journalistic licence, I have never seen such a biased report with a link ‘to the commissioners response’. CNS, why did you not research the police position on this before publishing? There are two sides to every story, and this is clearly one sided.
CNS: The police were asked many questions on the subject and the answers to the ones they chose to give were included in our previous article – this article is largely in response to that one. The response from the police commissioner to this story did not shine any new light on the matter and did not warrant another article. We therefore added it as an attachment so that people can read it for themselves. If, however, the police choose to be forthcoming and to explain maintenance costs for the helicopter in more detail with some actual figures we’d be more than happy to publish.
It seems to me that sending the police helicopter off-island for services that could reasonably be rendered on-islands has a major downside in that on-island services can be rendered more quickly which would make the helicopter more frequently available.
If you have to send the helicopter off-island every time for maintenance, then there is a span of time where you are without the services of the helicopter. In effect, it creates a window of time during which, it may be reasonably assumed, criminals would be more likely to commit crimes and get away with crimes since there is no aerial support from a police helicopter.
Is that not a factor at all in the decision-making process?
It only becomes a window of opportunity once the media decide to publicise the fact. Not responsible reporting, and all this has done is make sure the absence gets as much publicity as possible.
Sit tight Jerome. What goes around, comes around. How long will it be before they come begging for the use of your helicopter?
When they do I certainly wouldn’t be charging it out at cost!!
From the commissioner’s misleading press release it is clear RCIPS cannot afford to charter a canoe let alone a private aircraft.
The Police should never have bought a helicopter to begin with!
It would no doubt be more effective to have asked for expressions of interest (from CI Helicopters) and any other interested parties, to provide services that CI Helicopters had provided for years.
First financially, but also otherwise as the Police would not have to involve themselves in an area where they have no knowledge. And could focus where they should….crime!
This will no doubt end up costing far more now.
Imagine this; you need to go to town twice a week. You only have a limited budget to live on. Poice advice; Buy yourself a limosine and hire a full time driver and mechanic and garage. Send the bill to the Gov….tell him to get it paid!
Seems to me it would work out better to hire a limo….or car….or take the bus….as needed!….and have no maintenance worries. Added benefit….help local economy!
My personal opinion is that current police leadership is very poor.In my daily interaction with rank and file cops it is easy to see that they have little faith in the top brass and their current action plans.Perhaps we can get rid of him.When a govt. entity does not know what it is doing it tends to be secretive but when they have a plan they think will work they shout it from the rooftops.I dont hear any shouting.The number 1 problem in the country has been identified ad nauseum.Perhaps the govt. should act on this issue.
Jerome always remember that no good deed goes unpunished.I have to say that goes double for govt.
THE POLICE WANTS TO BRING IN A MECHANIC FROM EUROPE. remember we have gold command has thier meetings there are 4-5 english officers there.for sure they will be lobbying for thier friend. i hope we will be able to find out how much it will cost to get service in the usa . i hope when the helicoper is gone nothing happens that we need CIH to assist.,if it do happen i would like to know who from gold command would have the B$$ls to ask for the assistance. it is sad to see that some member (1) menber object and as a result the relationship with CIH is over
When comparing the bids between the local supplier for on-going regular maintenance and the option to send the helicopter to the USA for a month did they consider the "social" cost…… ie criminals may increase their activities when the helicopter is off island – it wouldn’t be hard for them to find out when the coast was clear.
Slavery Mentality persists in our Third World nation.
I think this should be a clear lesson to the gov’t of where they lose out by not having complete transparency to the people. CIH doesn’t get a contract and complain to the media and everyone jumps on their case because they have chosen not to go with a local company at least for the time being but really we are only hearing their side and all gov’t says is it wasn’t good value for money. But by them just saying this and not actually giving us some insight on why it was decided this way allows people to speculate and come up with all kinds of theories. A decision like this should have nothing to hide from the public so why can’t they release their reasoning?
I think they have, better value to employ their own, unless I have missed the point in the final paragraphs
It looks like this is a more balanced report arising from last week’s article reporting that the RCIPS helicopter will be sent away. In that report the RCIPS state that CIH refused to negotiate – a matter which now appears not to be the case.
Jerome should send his proposal to Cohen & Company and have them submit it. Someone gets a finder’s fee, the contract is signed, and everybody is happy again.
You forgot to mention that first the contract is signed, then the terms are negotiated.
maybe they need a remote control Helicopter to patrol the place, that shouldnt be to hard to fix or maintain!
Mr.Begot should just wait and see. Time is longer than rope and when the RCIPS helicopter is out of service along with their boats the RCIPS will need his services again. Go do the math. S–t happens.
Gets more and more like a Third World country every day.Jeez.
Third world territory.
We always have been a third world contry. This is not USA or UK, they are first world countries, it will be generations before we become anything but third world.
you’re not very clever, are you?
Must be UDP! LOL!!!
I am a Caymanian and I have known Jerome and Natalie for many years and they has always been very generous toward the RCIP and this country. They are very nice individuals and while the other side of the coin is not known here, I know Jerome and Natalie good enough to know that they would have done what they said, even if it only covered their cost. I am very disappointed for them, because I know they have selflessly given so much to this country. I hope common sense prevails and that someone in the RCIP reconsiders their folly and reestablishes the relationship with Jerome. Just imagine the benefits – Jerome has his own helicopter that could have filled in for the RCIP if the need arose while theirs was down for servicing. How foolish to destroy such a relationship.
"There’s no reason for it it’s just our policy." Is this a surprise, Mr. Bergot? And like previous CIG procurements it’s not a matter of value for money….or the local economy. It’s who you know.
Actually for once it’s nothing about who you know.
They should have kept negotiating, CIH would have surrendered to their demands eventually.
Ok, work this one out. One engineer, some paperwork – $500,000!!! a year. That’s over $400,000 profit, unless he is the highest paid engineer in the world.
Come on, someone thought they had the floor to themselves I think. So we are criticize the RCIPS for going down the employment route rather than enter in a contract with someone who saw dollar signs in front of their eyes. Imagine what you would all be saying if the RCIPS entered into that initial contract…..wow
And if he could reduce down to below half, why did he not do that from the start.
Everyone has a go at the cost of the helicopter, then we get a story like this showing how they are trying to keep the cost down, and it still ends up bashing the RCIPS. Reading between the lines, if Kernohan were still here, they would have got the contract at $500,000. Now there is a story
CNS: As the article makes clear, the lesser quotes are for contracts with reduced scopes.
Quote: “Ok, work this one out. One engineer, some paperwork – $500,000!!! a year. That’s over $400,000 profit, unless he is the highest paid engineer in the world.”
You obviously do not know much about aviation maintenance and the costs involved.
Please inform yourself before posting such comments.
So the on costs of maitenance are 400 per cent more than the labour cost, I don’t think so. This was a labour only contract, not parts, I know because I saw the original tender.
I don’t understand why this makes the news at all? surely the police are having to spend so much time responding to all these ridiculous articles rather than have the chance to get stuck in and do a good job! If Mr jerome’s company chose to put in an offer that was so much higher than the other offer then he can only expect it to be rejected. These are difficult economic times and the way i see it the government and the rcips chose the most cost effective way.. what we have all been asking them to do for months!!! keep up the good work guys!
Cayman Islands helicopters offered the police "progressive maintenance". The American maintenance company provide "block maintenance". Block maintenance requires the aircraft to go to a facility overseas for scheduled services. With Cayman helicopters the police helicopter would stay in Cayman and the police/government would not be faced with the costs of moving the aircraft to and from the US.
Do you know how much Jerome’s helicopter would cost Cayman per hour? if you do then you’ll know that the Police Service should do all they can to maintain the helicopter themselves and not source it out!
Now that CIH has released their numbers on cost can we see how much it is going to cost to send it to US so we can compare?
Rotortech Services in West Palm Beach is >950 miles closer than the Louisiana option. Was their service quote that far out of the money, or does someone have friends to visit in Louisiana?
It appears that the friends of Mr Begot are advocating that the government pay whatever is tended by ‘locals’ to keep business on island. Sadly, this rather unrealistic and cosy arrangement whilst handsomely lining Mr Begot’s pockets does not meet ‘best value’ requirements and more importantly is not good for the people of Cayman.
When the Commissioner stated that Mr Begot’s price was ‘excessive’, he didn’t just pluck that description out of thin air. Financial oversight must have compared prices of the competition and made that judgement. A more realistic pricing structure from Mr Begot might have put him favourably amongst the competition but I suspect as the only provider at the time he felt the contract was his for the taking at any price. He is now paying the penalty, like any other businessman would, for a price that didn’t beat the competition.
Mr Begot is obviously not only ‘disappointed’ but quite bitter. It’s business! As a previous post stated, you lost a contract…..get over it…..move on.
XXXXX
It does not seem that there was any competition when you take time to read the article. On what basis do you contend the pricing was not realistic. Were you involved in the negotiations?
Jerome,Mac can say all he wants about this, but in the end it is in the Police Commissioner and the Governors hands and as much as I believe the Governor is doing a fine job, I find the Police Commissioner full of talk and no action. One can see his track record thus far and now that his logic, thinking and process are contrary to the needs of this country.
The police commissioner was on the radio the other morning complaining about how much money they receive and as I listen I found it very hard to believe that Austin and Gilbert didn’t ask the hard and fast question about value for the ton of money we spend on policing in this country.
Maybe it’s time for another FOI to see how much they are going to waste sending our hard earned money to Louisiana to pay other people when they could have been injecting that money into our local economy.
I don’t know about anyone else but the little i know aboutaviation, the figures if factual from CIH did not seem out of line.
Baines has not been the best decision maker nor is he a man that the average man on the street can feel comfortable in talking to. I find it easier having a chat with the Governor than with him. He always has the persona that he knows it all and that he is above all people, in essence very pompous. He needs to humble himself and get involved in the community, get to know our people their culture and their needs. He can blow our money to the four winds because at the end of his contract he can take his money and the next flight back to the UK while we stay here and try to find a way to pay for his mistakes.
I call on the UDP Government as well as the Opposition to at least question how much is being paid to the overseas company versus the local one and what are the cost benefits.
"I find the Police Commissioner full of talk and no action"
Based on what? Cos you haven’t seen him personally patrolling the waterfront yet? Last time I checked, the police had rounded up most of the shooters in the country who are now under lock and key. But I guess that was blind luck. The fact that more and more people are taking to robbery to fund the drug habits we’d like to think don’t exist, is hardly Baines’ fault.
"Baines has not been the best decision maker nor is he a man that the average man on the street can feel comfortable in talking to"
Again, based on what? And are we really to prioritise conversational skills with "average" people in our selection of a Police Commissioner? I’d rather select someone based on how well they run a police force, which I’m pretty sure is what the selection committee had in mind when they chose Baines.
Besides, I’m frequently in the street, I’m a man and I’m certainly average, and I don’t find him pompous at all. So maybe it’s more subjective than you think…
Re: "So maybe it’s more subjective than you think…"
"Subjective" is one of the problems!
Paul
I guess i don’t hang out with the English folk as much as you do and I misunderstand his pompousness for just plain being a jolly good bloke from the UK .
I don’t blame him for the drug problem nor do I believe he has captured all the shooters as guns are still being used repeatedly in robberies. They just haven’t shot and killed anyone recently. Guns and drugs that should never be on an island these size with the amount of Police and assets such as boats, cars and helicopter. What I blame him for is not taking the bull by the horns and trying to prevent these harmful elements into our society.
If he can’t relate to us common folk than how does he manage a police force that is constantly seeking the public’s help. This is not perception, it is real.
Take your head out of the sand Paul. We are a small island with a huge crime problem and it is people like you that swell the head of these technocrats and let them believe they are all that. If you call what he is doing effective policing then Lord help us!
Maybe the true reason for the RCIPs withdrawing from the contract is because they are the culprits of costing the country great amounts of cash. Then they complain the force is under funded. or another scenario, maybe this is the way Gold Command designed it for the crew to vacation on the country by flying across boarders at the country’s expense.
Baines can "relate to us common folk". Perhaps you should worry less about whether you like the way he sounds and try paying attention to what he actually says. But thanks for being open about your prejudice against English people – it certainly casts light on the rest of your comments.
As for grabbing the bull by the horns and stopping all these guns coming into the country…leaving aside the amusing mental picture that provides, how are you proposing he does that? You would need an entire fleet of boats permanently on patrol. It would make the schools project debacle look like a stroke of investment genius.
And please, just because I happen not to think someone idle and indolent, doesn’t mean I am making them think "they are all that".
Paul..in response I have no prejudice against English people. I am only saying that I maybe misjudging his cultural personna. I am very much worried about what he says but I am more concerned about his actions. Talk is cheap as is evidence by your last post. I like most people that live here want to see action not listen to a XXXX Police Commissioner tell us that it is the fault of the USA. We didn’t hire him to sort out the USA, just these very small three islands we all love.
In case you don’t know this he has a fleet of boats, cars and a helicopter at his disposal and YES I would like to see these on permanent patrol. You tell where in the world except the Cayman Islands that the police are noton duty 24/7. I say this to say that your argument and support of the commissioner is flawed and again I say it is this same mentality that makes him believe he doesn’t have to do a thing differently than he is already doing.
According to the Police Commissioner the Police Service is getting $33m per year. I say show me where we are getting value for money. The few people they arrest, get off in court because of the poorly handled investigations and are let right back out on to the streets. I will applaud them for the few they have managed to handle properly but the vast majority are not.
This is my country, my people and I care deeply about the way it is handled. I say it again and mark my words and I will eat them if it doesn’t happen. There will come a time when the people, the governor and everyone else will rise up and say enough. Then as is usually the case, Mr. Commissioner will pack his bags with all of his tax free savings and move back to his beloved England to his small crime free town where he can live out his retirement free from all of the crap and crime that we in Cayman must continue to endure whilst he was here doing very little to help us.
sure…and the selection committee knew what they were doing when they picked Kernohan too..LMAO
I think it is an absolute disgrace that the Government has not used the services of Mr.Begot and should be held accountable for the money they just throw away.
If there is a contract in place, hire a lawyer and go to court.
Hey, I like Jerome, I’ve seen him do some selfless things and know firsthand that he is a kind and generous person. I just don’t think this is the correct forum for this grievance. I think we all know that the court of public opinion is unlikely to shame the government into doing the right thing. If you have a contract, I’d suggest taking those parties to court and shaming them there.
You should read the article. The police terminated negotiations before a contract was concluded.
This is a prime example of sections of Government not supporting the local economy. Mr Bergot offers his services, as well as being on hand at a moments notice due to his location and instead the contract is shipped off to the United States. Not mentioned is the fact that due to the longstanding habit of Government over spending, this contract will probably be more expensive!! Ridiculous!! Keep up the good work guys, keep up the good work!
Just another poor management decision by Govt. Everyone in the world is trying to outsource where possible in order to reduce costs. And we have the opportunity to do so, yet government wants to waste more money and hire a full time engineer to fill this post??? MORONS!
Always the same with government. We have professionals on the island that can do a lot of things, but when government employees offer to make their workplace (i had my experience at the HSA) better, some US firm will always be trusted with a job for what ever reason
Is it just me or does it seem like this is the usual outcome of a proffessional contractor dealing with a Cayman company?
if the rcips found a better deal overseas…then so what!….get over it….looks like CIH had it too easy for too long knowing that they were the only ones tendering….
Helicopters are complex aircraft which require much more frequent maintenance than fixed wing aircraft.
The estimated cost of operating the police helicopter is $1500.00 per hour, including crew and maintenance.
In view of this, the offers from CIH are surprisingly low in my opinion.
Maintenance need are such that a full time senior helicopter mechanic and immediately available parts and equipment is required to keep a helicopter in the air.
The most efficient arrangement would be a shared maintenance facility for use by CIH, the Police, other helicopters, and General Aviation.
Sadly, I think this is justRCIPS playing politics.
CIH established a very solid working relationship with Stuart Kernohan, one that was subject to numerous unsuccessful attempts to discredit it, and this decision seems to be nothing more than another move to bury any trace of a period when RCIPS enjoyed proper leadership and was making a significant impact on the post-Ivan crime wave.
It also harks back to the blatant government interference in the establishment of the ASU in 2007.
Bottom line – only one group of society benefits from the absence of the helicopter so it is time for all those involved in this fiasco to choose sides.
Jerome – same thing happened to Dart when he first proposed to buy the dump several years ago – snubbed. Why ? Becuase he is an ex pat with money and since it wasnt the Govts idea, it was turned down…now when they are in desparate need of $, they go back to him…I once asked a pal close to me in Govt how much they spent on hiring Jerome to do their sortis etc prior to making the big splash about the RCIPS buying their own $2-$3mm helicopter…he said that over like 18 months they had spent somewhere near $750k to hire out Jerome’s services…you do the math – does it really make sense to own a $3mm chopper here ?? It is the narrow mindedness here and the huge sense of pride that misses the forest thru the trees…I love this Island but I detest hearing the same old drivvle…this am on the radio some Caymanian called in and said the usual "too many work permit holders and too many unemployed Caymanians"…why does Cayman not see why there is this correlation ? Start with educating your people so they can actually be qualified to do these jobs. eek – time for a coffee.
Now that the police hellicopter is going for servicing there are no excuses in not using Mr. Jerome helicopter. Plus I also think that is should be used more also for the protection and detection of our borders. Many guns and contraband are getting by because our system is too predictable. Some will complain of cost I am certain. At what cost are we saving? I call that priorities. God bless
If this helicopter is being used so often, I say it needs to be maintained often. But I sure cant see why it has to go overseas for a monthly check up. Give us some answers.