WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. --
The 439th Airlift Wing poured more than $221 million into
the community in fiscal year 2015, representing a $319,000 increase over last
year.
However, military pay last year decreased by nearly $2
million, due in large part to less reserve funding, according to Dan McCarthy,
Westover cost and management analyst. Additionally for fiscal year 2014, the
value of jobs created decreased by about $500,000 due to cuts in the federal
budget, McCarthy said.
Fiscal year 2015 saw a net increase of $6 million in
construction and related expenditures. A $24 million fuel hydrant system
project began on the flight line in 2013, with the cost pro-rated over a
three-year construction period. In 2014, there was a net increase from 2013 of
$11.5 million in construction and related expenditures.
The wing impacted communities within a 50-mile radius
with an economic impact of $221,175,721 from Oct. 1, 2014 to Sept. 30, 2015.
During the previous year, the base’s economic impact was
$220,856,889.
In 2013, the impact was $224,946,752. In 2012, the impact was $237,936,751, and in
2011, that figure was $237,568,913.
The number of base employees decreased from 3,613 in 2014
to 3,345 in 2015. In 2013, Westover
employed 3,813 people. This year’s
number includes 2,260 Air Force reservists, down from 2,319 last year. There
are 675 federal employees now (712 last year) and 277 non-appropriated fund and
contract employees (287 last year).
The annual payroll for the base during fiscal year 2015
totaled $124 million. In 2014, that number was $125.8 million.
The estimated value of indirect jobs created – a federal
formula that calculates goods and services off base which members purchase –
amounted to $46.2 million in 2015 ($46.8 million last year).
The economic figures and personnel counts do not include
the base’s 28 tenant units, which include ten Army units and three Marine
units, which together employ about 1,680 people, mainly reservists.
“Despite declining
military budgets, Westover’s joint-base operations continue to provide an
economic engine for Western Massachusetts,” said Col. Albert Lupenski, 439th
Airlift Wing commander. “Budget belt-tightening is going on across the Air
Force, but we’re glad our base’s relevance and versatility continue to support
the economies of communities near the base significantly.”