Sumner County Airport Authority Secretary Steve Nelson, member
Camden McConnell, Treasurer Dianne Denson and member Tim Lynch and
former Chairman David Hunter at the board's meeting Monday, Dec. 23.
Jesse Hughes / Gallatin News Examiner
The board voted Monday to allow Chairman Jim Egan to work out a temporary contract for at least 90 days at $2,500 a month with Mike McCartney, chief executive officer of GTO Aviation LLC, the airport’s fixed base operator.
The board fired the previous airport manager, Steve Sudbury, in November after the two parties failed to reach an agreement on Sudbury’s contract.
Egan told board members they need someone to be designated as manager by Jan. 10 in order to apply for an aviation grant to fix the runway gradient so that all 6,300 feet meet new Federal Aviation Administration guidelines.
A detailed yearlong contract agreement with a 90-day out provision proffered by McCartney was rejected by the board. Especially objectionable to some was a first right of refusal that would have allowed McCartney to be first in line to continue on as manager. If he turned it down, then they could hire someone else. McCartney said such a stipulation would keep the board from naming a board member’s relative to replace him if he does a “bang-up job” in straightening out the airport management.
“I know what nepotism is. I run a family business,” Vice Chairman Don Drayton said. “This is public business.”
Drayton added the board would not be able to do that because it would be a conflict for them to hire a relative.
Drayton also questioned whether McCartney should be managing the airport at all because he is head of the fixed base operator, which provides mechanical and other services, such as fueling, for pilots and plane owners. He said it could be a “high conflict of interest” that might “inhibit competitive growth” and set up barriers to other businesses in the enforcement of rules and regulations. McCartney countered that other airports in Tennessee had fixed base operators as managers. However, Egan said the issue was that McCartney ran a private business and the others he referred to were operated by governmental entities with no conflicts.
Board member Camden McConnell said he preferred a contract that was “loosey-goosey.” McCartney said Mark Smith, the airport authority’s attorney, insisted on tightening up the wording.
Last month, McCartney accepted the manager position through his company instead of him individually. However, after checking with his insurance carrier he said he wanted the contract to be with him as an individual to make sure the airport authority retained liability instead of his company. Egan said they would have to run that by their own insurance carrier.
Clean audit
In other business, auditor Carl Davis gave the authority an unqualified “clean” opinion for the fiscal year that ended June 30. He included additional relevant information to document dramatic changes and turnover from the old board to the new. Ten of 11 members are new this year after the Sumner County Commission won a lawsuit in a years-long power struggle with the previous airport board.
The audit found one material weakness regarding segregation of duties on financial and accounting duties, which was a repeat finding. However, the authority stripped those duties from the manager position in October.
The audit highlighted the fact that the board now requires two signatures on all checks.
“The second signature layer is a good thing,” Davis said. “You’ll find management people that will complain about excessive controls but you’ll never find an auditor that will.”
The audit committee reported it sent financial information for the past three years to a Nashville audit firm that offered to perform a free review to determine whether a forensic audit was needed.
Source: http://www.tennessean.com
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