WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. -- The 439th Airlift Wing added $197 million into the community in fiscal year 2016. The number represents a decrease of nearly $24 million from last year.
The wing impacted communities within a 50-mile radius with an economic impact of $197,257,006 from Oct. 1, 2015 to Sept. 30, 2016. In 2015, the base's economic impact was $221,175,721.
Previous years' economic impact were
2014 - $220,856,889
2013 - $224,946,752
2012 - $237,936,751
2011 - $237,568,913.
Construction and related expenditures decreased $23.5 million last year, according to Dan McCarthy, Westover cost and management analyst. Other factors included the timing of the base operating support contract award process when the base contractor changed hands last year. Additionally, the loss of eight aircraft affected base expenditures last year, McCarthy said.
The base saw a decrease of $1.6 million in payroll last year, due in part to a decrease in Air Force civilian employees working at the base, McCarthy said. Westover lost 23 full-time civilians last year, down from 675 to 652.
The value of estimated jobs created increased by about $1.2 million as a result of an increase in the number of traditional reservists placed on active duty last year, McCarthy said. The estimated value of indirect jobs created is derived from a federal formula that calculates goods and services off base which members purchase. The estimate amounted to $47.5 million in 2016, up from $46.2 million in 2015.
The total number of base employees - active duty, reserve, and civilians increased from 3,345 in 2015 to 3,371 in 2016.
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, we're glad to see that Westover's joint-base operations continue to provide a powerful economic engine for Western Massachusetts," said Col. Jay Jensen, 439th Airlift Wing commander.