MONTICELLO — Sullivan County's money-losing airport is now being looked at as county legislators search for ways to cut costs or raise revenues in order to balance next year's budget.
Public Works Commissioner Bob Meyer and airport Superintendent Mike Mullen gave an overview of the airport's operations and expenses Thursday to the Legislature's Public Safety Committee.
The discussion initiated a debate about the whether the airport in the Town of Bethel could be sold or run by an outside contractor, or whether landing fees could be raised for a facility whose expenses were more than four times as high as revenue last year.
"I'm just not sure that the county should be subsidizing the airport," Legislator Cindy Geiger said.
A range of people use the airport, Meyer and Mullen told the committee. It draws aircraft ferrying owners to houses at upscale Chapin Estate and visitors to attractions like Bethel Woods and Monticello Motor Club.
The airport is also home base to 41 aircraft — most of them single-engine planes. It also provides corporate hangar space to Granite Associates, Sano Aviation and Woodstock Aircraft Services, which is contracted to sell fuel and do maintenance for the airport.
But the airport's number of operations — takeoffs and landings — has decreased from 2009, falling from just under 35,000, to about 30,000 in 2011, according to Thursday's presentation.
The county spent $413,176 on operating and capital expenses at the airport last year. It received about $89,000 in revenue, including from lease agreements with hangar owners, landing fees and its 10-cents-a-gallon share of fuel sales.
Defenders of the airport, which represents about 1.4 percent of DPW's budget this year, called it a vital asset that makes the county more attractive to potential businesses.
The county might have also solved a problem with water availability that could attract businesses to the airport's industrial park, Meyer said.
"If part of the economic development plan is to attract some larger corporate entities, that's something you have to have," Legislator Jonathan Rouis said of the airport.
One potential source of new revenue is the fee charged to aircraft for landing at the airport. Jet aircraft pay $100 per landing; single-engine turboprops $50 and charter aircraft $30 per landing.
"If we're going to continue to keep the airport "¦ we need to do something about the fee schedule," Legislator Kitty Vetter said.
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