The Frederick Municipal Airport will chip away at expenses and look to increase revenues under the mayor's proposed fiscal year 2016 budget.
The proposed airport budget of nearly $1,927,000 is just slightly smaller, 1.6 percent less, than last year.
Operating expenses went down 6 percent, airport manager Rick Johnson said. Part of that is due to the fact that the airport tower generators will not need to be tested this budget year.
“There is nothing really big that's different,” Mayor Randy McClement said.
The airport did not have to do without any major items to bring down expenses, according to Johnson, but rather the decrease was the result of going through each line item to make sure the budget reflects the actual needs of the airport.
This year's budget would not affect the airport's services or commitment to safety, Johnson added.
Income from airport services has been increasing, according to the mayor's budget, from nearly $841,000 in fiscal year 2014 to an anticipated $958,000 this year.
“We've been working hard on our leases,” Director of Economic Development Richard Griffin said, adding the airport has proposed a 4.4 percent increase in fees. “The airport is sustaining its operational costs with the revenues generated by the airport.”
The airport is setting aside money for a corporate hangar, he continued, which would increase rental revenue, fuel sales and maintenance income. There is already a waiting list for hangar space, he noted.
The city will have to provide less money, about $246,000, out of the general fund than it did in 2014 and 2013. In those years, $724,000 and $405,000 was pulled from the general fund, respectively.
The general fund transfer should remain fairly steady until fiscal 2018, according to budget director Katie Barkdoll.
In 2023, a balloon payment of over $5 million will be due on the purchase of land to be used to expand the runway at the airport.
The land, Bowman Farm, was purchased with the expectation that the Federal Aviation Administration would reimburse the city, but it appears the city will not be reimbursed.
Alderman Phil Dacey suggested partnering with the county and businesses to address the issue of the debt, which he said uses up funds that might be better applied elsewhere.
“We need to find a consultant, someone who can help us maximize the value of what we have there,” he said. “There is a lot of potential for businesses.”
He suggested creating an airport authority that includes county representatives. Since Frederick County benefits from the city's airport, he said, it would make sense to have them bear some responsibility for its budget.
Alderman Josh Bokee described a similar idea for an "independent airport development authority" in an email.
The organization would include many financial partner and funding sources, he said, the city being just one of them.
"Resolving this debt issue requires creativity," he wrote.
McClement noted that the City of Frederick does have an airport commission and it would make more sense to use the existing commission to help address the needs of the airport instead of establishing another one.
Frederick does work with the county when it can, he added. For example, when Frederick wanted a hangar back that it had sold to the county, Frederick County sold it back at cost.
“We continue to ask for as much involvement that we can,” McClement said.
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