County executive outlines plan to create airport enterprise fund and reconstituted authority board

County Executive George told the Cash County Council that a year‑and‑a‑half‑old airport review contains roughly 30 recommendations aimed at making the airport financially self‑sustaining and professionally managed.

“The first recommendation was that we consolidate ownership,” George said, then walked council members through recent financials and a proposed transition to an enterprise fund. He described the airport fund’s 2025 cash and reserves and said the goal is to “wean ourselves off the $100,000 from Cash County in the 2027 budget.”

The proposal would: establish a dedicated enterprise fund for airport operations; reconstitute the airport authority as a board of directors composed largely of aviation‑experienced, non‑elected professionals (limited representation by airport customers or pilots); and retain the county council as the sponsor with authority over long‑term indebtedness, regular reporting and removal of board members.

Keegan, a council member who said he prepared an organizational chart, recommended policy language that defines the positions and qualifications for board appointments (civil engineering, aviation business and legal expertise) before names are considered. The county attorney and other staff repeatedly warned that federal grants carry "39 assurances" that impose ongoing federal conditions on airport operations and capital projects, and that any ordinance must preserve compliance with those grant obligations.

George said the recommended path is to build a policy and ordinance that gives operational authority to a professionally oriented board while the sponsor (the county) preserves oversight. He proposed adding two representatives from Logan City to the sponsor group to reflect Logan’s past role at the airport; council members agreed to further study that idea.

Council members asked staff to draft ordinance language and to bring a policy committee and an operations management meeting into the process. The county will convene a follow‑up OM meeting to review federal grant constraints, draft oversight language and identify the specific positions the authority should include. No ordinance was adopted at the meeting; council members asked staff and the county attorney to return with a draft for formal consideration.

The council’s next steps include: staff research on grant covenants and state law, drafting ordinance language to create an enterprise fund and authority board, defining qualifications and term limits for board members, and specifying reporting and audit requirements for quarterly oversight until the sponsor is comfortable with delegation.

George said the objective is administrative and fiscal prudence: to create an authority that can pursue grants and manage airport business professionally while protecting the county’s fiscal exposure during a multi‑year transition.