April 26, 2023
Pocatello for Accountable Government Entities has been digging into the details of the City’s subsidy agreement with SkyWest. The subsidy agreement requires that the City of Pocatello repay SkyWest for any shortfall between SkyWest’s operating costs and their revenue, up to $346,459 per quarter. P.A.G.E.’s research shows that SkyWest’s shortfall for the first quarter of FY 23 “exceeded the maximum quarterly subsidy approved by Council.” In a social media post yesterday, they explain:
SKYWEST UPDATE:
The City of Pocatello’s cost for the 1st Quarter (2023) SkyWest subsidy invoice (Jan, Feb, Mar) was $346,459.
The invoice numbers document the actual revenue shortage exceeded the maximum quarterly subsidy ($346,459) approved by Council on December 15, 2022.
This invoice does not clearly reflect the adjustment, however the math [total cost calculation (A) minus total revenue (B) ] shows March’s actual shortage @ $96,760.71. It was adjusted down to $54,882 in order to not exceed the overall cap/max for the quarter resulting in a $41,877.21 loss for SkyWest in March, 2023.
Out of the $1,010,000 approved by Council for calendar year 2023, $663,541 remains for April – December 2023.
12/15/23 Minutes: https://pocatello.gov/Age…/ViewFile/Minutes/_12152022-1437
NOTE: The red notations on the invoice were added by P.A.G.E. to document the subsidy shortage for March 2023.
[…] with the new agreement that SkyWest will NOT be shorted the $41,877.21 mentioned in our earlier update on 04/25/23. How? 2. The 2nd Quarter 2023 SkyWest agreement (signed by Mayor Blad on March 8, 2023) […]