DUNBAR TWP. — A Fayette County resident, pilot and tenant at the Joseph A. Hardy/Connellsville Airport will be the new manager of the facility.
In a 3-2 vote on Wednesday, the Fayette County Airport Authority board of directors hired John “Bud” Neckerauer as its manager at an annual salary of $42,000, effective immediately.
“He was the best qualified,” said Matt Thomas, board vice-president following a lengthy executive session to discuss the matter.
According to Thomas, Neckerauer is employed by a trucking firm headquartered in Minnesota.
Thomas said that Neckerauer and two other unidentified candidates were interviewed by him and board member Sam Cortis earlier in the week. The three were among 12 candidates submitting resumes for the position.
“All three met our qualifications,” he said.
Thomas said that he would not disclose why Neckerauer was chosen over the other two candidates, only stating that he was “best suited” for the position. When asked if he had any managerial experience, Thomas reiterated that he “would not” discuss his qualifications. The other two candidates were not identified.
Neckerauer is expected to begin his duties Monday.
In addition to Thomas and Cortis, board Chairman Fred Davis supported the hiring, with board members Myrna Giannopolus and Jesse Wallace casting no votes to the action.
Neckerauer replaces Mary Lou Fast, who agreed to a layoff in January.
In addition to becoming acclimated to the position, Neckerauer will also have to aid the board in determining the financial condition of the airport.
According to a financial report offered by Giannopolus, board secretary, who has overseen the day-to-day business at the airport since Fast’s departure, the authority has several overdue invoices, including a nearly $8,000 bill owed to its auditing firm.
When questioned by Davis about the purported financial shortfall, Giannopolus responded that while she was handling some of the daily duties, she was “not familiar” with the authority accounts and had made some payments to avoid utility shutoffs.
“There has been a lot of stuff that came in that I didn’t know what to do with,” she said.
During a heated discussion, Giannopolus defended her attempts to handle office duties and criticized the other board members for not taking any responsibility.
“I never ran an airport before,” she said. “None of you came in and even said ‘hello’ or ask how I was doing.”
Board member Jesse Wallace defended Giannopolus.
“She doesn’t have to answer to any of us,” he said.
Following the meeting, Davis, Thomas and Cortis admitted that as a board they were responsible for the financial condition of authority but were not familiar with the finances.
Pointing to a financial statement, Davis said it showed overdue bills dating back to October.
“There has apparently been a problem for some time,” he said.
Cortis said that he would be contacting McClure and Wolfe of Uniontown, the authority’s accountants, and request an immediate audit.
“I do not believe there is any money missing,” he said. “No one has stolen any money. We do have money, we just don’t know where it is at and that’s why we will be requesting an audit.”
Davis said that an audit completed in 2012 of 2011 figures, showed no discrepancies.
Turning to another staffing matter, the board approved the hiring of a data entry/bookkeeper.
In a 3-2 vote, the board agreed to use local agencies to secure a knowledgeable person to “get the finances in order.”
“An audit and getting our finances in order will help us get on track,” said Davis.
Davis, Thomas and Cortis agreed to the hiring with Wallace and Giannopolus casting no votes to the action.
In other business, the board named Giannopolus as the open records officer.
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