City Funds Keep Airport in the Black

Without city funding, the Grove Municipal Airport Authority would be operating in the red, according to city hall records.
Records show that in fiscal year '04'-05 the airport spent $157,636 on operations including $4,147 in legal fees, and received $42,054 in city funding for utilities, supplies, training, and contract services/leases. Had the airport paid the expenses that were paid by the city, the airport would have lost $26,469 instead of being in the black $15,585, or about 9% profit.
Most of the revenue at the airport comes from rentals of the T Hangers and fuel sales. Revenues for T Hanger rentals in FY '04-'05 totaled $37,309 with fuel sales of $134,000 at a cost of $87,000.
Total revenues for that period were $173,222, ending June 30, 2005, with total expenses of $157,636, records show. The airport made about $47,000 profit on fuel sales last fiscal year.
This FY year through Jan. 31 the city has contributed $16,567 to the airport operations on airport expenditures of $148,454 and revenues of $163,865, according to the records. This revenue includes a $24,793 cash balance forward that the airport authority did not budget, said city officials.
Fuel costs this FY to date have been $106,131 on sales of $105,868. A recent fuel purchase in January is the reason for the upside/down number on fuel.
Profit this FY to date is $15,410 with the city contributing $16,657 in airport related expenses. Budgeted this FY from the city is a total of $44,898 compared with $42,062 last year.
Budgeted expense by the airport for this FY is $187,417 compared with budgeted $157,931 last year.
Wages, benefits and car allowance for airport management totaled $37,889 last year with virtually the same amount budgeted for this year, according to records.
Budgeted from City Capital Grant Revenues for the airport for this fiscal year are $615,000 in funds; for City Capital Expenditures, Airport Grants, a total of $672,000 is budgeted with actual $58,234 spent to date. Last year this amount totaled $130,801.
The Grove City Council voted 3-2 at its last meeting to withhold future expenditures of budgeted funds to the airport authority. City Manager Bill Galletly has made it clear that funds necessary to operate the airport will continue but that monies to attend conferences and other non essential items would be cutoff.
"We will continue to pay for essential functions, but we won't pay them to hire attorneys to sue the city," Galletly said Wednesday.
"We shook hands on a compromise deal last Friday, with Bryant Chestnutt, and where I come from a handshake is good, but then at Monday's meeting the compromise had to be dragged out of him and then they voted to consider legal action," Galletly said. He added that another meeting was in the works and he hoped that things could be worked out by the end of this week.