The Army gave Newark a free helicopter that ended up costing the city $2 million

The city of Newark, New Jersey found out the hard way that sometimes you definitely should look a gift horse in the mouth.

NJ.com reports that "public records show the city... has spent more than $2 million to refurbish, maintain, and operate [a U.S. Army hand-me-down helicopter] which does not fly all that often."

According to AP, the 42-year-old Vietnam-era OH-58A Bell Kiowa chopper was donated to Newark in 2005 as part of a military surplus program. Newark asked the Department of Defense for the helicopter in 2002 so they could use it to counter a growing number of carjackings and vehicle thefts.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

In just the past five years, bills accrued by the Newark City Council for the aircraft have amounted to $1.13 million. Flight logs show the helicopter typically flies only on Friday and Saturday nights for four-hour patrols.

Newark is infamous for its budget problems. In 2010, Mayor Cory Booker made headlines when he laid off 167 police officers.