Mike Nass, Clinton Municipal Airport manager, attaches a towing arm to a private jet on Thursday as the plane prepares for an afternoon takeoff, one of many responsibilities staff is tasked with at the Clinton Municipal Airport.
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CLINTON, IOWA — Operating the Clinton Municipal Airport relies heavily on the efforts of manager Mike Nass, so what would happen if he were incapacitated and unable to conduct his duties?
That was the question he posed to the Clinton City Council on Tuesday when he informed the group of his intention to hire a second, full-time employee to work opposite himself.
The prospect didn’t go over too well with a portion of the City Council, who felt the city’s struggles with understaffing and maintaining an already tight budget are too much to this point. But City Attorney Pat O’Connell informed the council that hiring personnel at the Clinton airport is not a decision for it to dictate.
“If they’re not subject to a collective bargaining unit, which they’re not, they can make more or less whatever human resources decisions they want, within reason of course,” said O’Connell, referencing to the Airport Commission.
What the council does have control over however, is the budget Nass is able to work with.
“It would be their internal decision as to how to handle the money wants it’s received,” O’Connell added.
Currently the airport is allocated $69,000 from the city’s general budget to maintain daily operations. The remainder of the airport’s budget comes from rental and fuel sales acquired throughout the year.
And though Nass has the necessary funding this year, due in part to a significant increase in fuel sales, he still wanted to inform the council of his options and allow it an opportunity to weigh in.
“My main objective was I know the unknowns that could happen with the commercial property tax rollback and all those things coming up, I know it’s going to be tight,” Nass said. “If we were to decide maybe we should go get this other full-time person can we support that, and the $69,000 allocation to the airport from the general fund which is not that much, or is next year when budget comes and things get tight next thing you know the airport budget gets cut significantly. I don’t want to hire somebody and then have to fire somebody again because it got tight and we were the first ones on the chopping block.”
It was a gesture well received by the council, and agreed cautioning Nass in his decision because of the potential of a reduction in the allocation. It wasn’t a sentiment that the allocation would be reduced, but in the event it is, the council wanted him to be prepared.
With the current state of activity at the airport, and because of its new capability to house private jet liners it once could not, Nass believes he will be able to maintain the cost of a second full-time employee in addition to the two part-time employees who will remain on staff.
Nass also said it is important to have another full-time employee who is educated on daily operations because of the clientele landing and utilizing the services offered there.
“We’re the first place a lot of these businesses come to town. You’ve got the guy coming in for this chemical plant, and we start screwing up his airplane, guess what he may go somewhere else and not even come here anymore,” Nass said. “We’re a lot of times for these businesses the first contact, that’s why we want to present a professional, knowledgeable image that we know what we’re doing. You’ve got people coming in with $40 to $50 million airplanes they don’t want the $10-an-hour, part-time college kid out there handling their airplane.”
That prospect, along with the notion those businessmen and women also are spending their money at local hotels, restaurants and entertainment options within the community eventually led to a nearly unanimous vote of support to Nass and his decision of who to hire.
Original article can be found here: http://www.clintonherald.com
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