The Barrow County Airport Authority at a called meeting today passed its overdue budget for fiscal year 2009. The budget does not include $350,000 in capital expenditures for a lighting system that the authority on Dec. 16 voted to move forward on.
Vice-chairman Lee Barnett said at today's meeting that the project was not budgeted, because it cannot go forward without additional funding from the Barrow County Board of Commissioners, and the incoming chairman of that board said last week that with sales taxes down, he doesn’t believe the county would be able to provide the $500,000 in SPLOST funding that voters approved for airport improvements.
The authority’s budget normally is approved by the end of September, because its fiscal year begins Oct. 1 along with the county government’s budget. The nearly three-month delay was due to recent controversies about planned capital improvements.
For the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2009, the approved budget projects revenues of $320,892 and operational expenses of $260,754, for a net income of $60,139. Those net proceeds will be used to pay for capital expenses during the year, according to the three-page document.
The $697,593 capital budget calls for expenditures of $457,776 for new or recently completed projects and a repayment of $239,817 on the authority’s line of credit. After all operational and capital expenditures, the FY2009 budget projects a net income of $17,362.
Barnett said the budget could be amended after the first of the year if the county commissioners decide to provide the SPLOST funding for the lighting system at the county-owned airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration a few weeks ago informed the authority that the local share of the nearly $1.3 million lighting project will be $894,000, rather than the $350,000 the authority had expected to pay.
Barnett said in an interview after today’s meeting that if the county comes up with the $500,000 in SPLOST funding for the project, the authority would come up with the rest of the local match, which would total $394,000. He said the authority has about $1 million remaining in its line of credit.
The FAA has set a deadline of June 2009 for the use of the federal funds.
I'm sure there are many that would like to see a bigger airport with more commercial traffic. For me, having lived near many airports and watched them expand I experienced no upside, particularly my home value. Guess until you've seen it first hand it is easy to believe airport expansion is a good thing. Good luck on your wishes for the airport.
The county can save money by altering the design of the lighting system. Just set up a hotline to Yearwood and his toadies for incoming pilots to call, and when a plane wants to land in bad weather, the Yearwood gang can go light the tiki torches or maybe coleman lanterns, if the budget permits. We can even lease the grass areas at the airport for grazing.
Lets just slow down the "NO TRAIN" for just a moment, shall we? I have some questions.
Mr. Yearwood indicates that funds MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE due to reduced tax collections.
With that having been said, I would like to know how much of the SPLOST FUNDS HAVE been collected for the airport project by the county to date. Since the voters of this county approved the Airport SPLOST funding, the Commissioners have to
release those funds for their intended purpose, once collected. If the Federal Funding expiration date prevents that, then the project should be moved to a future completion date when the SPLOST FUNDS are available, and a new application can be made for Federal Funding for the balance.
We can't just say "NO" to SPLOST funding that has already been approved! I understand that many disagree with the original outcome of the SPLOST vote, but that has no bearing on this issue, outside that of a personal opinion.
Respectfully submitted,
DuWayne R. Anderson
Winder, GA
You raise an interesting point. If legal challenges were made to redirecting SPLOST Airport project funds to other county budgeted items, what are the possible legal costs county taxpayers would be on the hook for? Maybe Yearwood has something cooking that we don't know about. I am sure the county attorney will be watching this one very closely.
Until next time..............
DuWayne R. Anderson
Winder, GA
The blame game seems to be the weapon of choice for those who didn't vote for, or approve of many of the SPOLST funding mandates.
Mr. Garrison and the outgoing commissioners, are being used as scapegoats to protect Mr.Yearwood and his new gang from any negative press relating to these issues.
Mr. Yearwood has a clear mandate to follow through on the wishes of the citizens of this county who voted for the SPLOST initiatives.
If you don't like what SPOLST funds are being used for, then next time a vote comes up, take the time to make your opinion known at the polls. Quit blaming everyone and anyone you can think of for upsetting your personal apple cart, and get over it already. SPLOST has been approved! End of story! Time to move on to 2009. Until next time.....................
DuWayne R. Anderson
Winder, GA
DuWayne