Airport Not Paying Its Fair Share
- Print print this page
- Discuss 15 comments, Blog about
Advertisement
Every time the Airport Authority tries to dig itself out of a public relations hole, it digs itself in deeper.
Airport member Don Delauter said in The Pilot, “To begin, it is important to emphasize that from the standpoint of day-to-day operations, the airport is a self-sustaining enterprise. This means that — unlike other county agencies — the airport does not depend on Moore County taxpayers to finance operations.”
When Whispering Pines Mayor Bob Zschoche responded that the county gave the airport more than $150,000 for its operations, airport chairman John Owen responded, “We reiterate that the day-to-day operations of the airport are paid for by funds generated by those operations.” But then he started digging the hole deeper when he said, “Some funding from the county is used to help to retire the debt on new hangars.”
Oops? Retire the debt on the new hangars? I thought that the airport rented out the hangars to private airplane owners. Isn’t the rent from these owners enough to pay the mortgage?
Sadly, the answer is no. Last year the rental income from the hangars was approximately $74,000. The mortgage payment was a hefty $171,999.26. The loss of $97,999.26 was, according to the airport chairman, paid with Moore County tax dollars. This would appear to mean that the owner of a million-dollar-plus airplane is paying 43 percent of the mortgage for his hangar, and the taxpayers are paying 57 percent of the mortgage. Sounds like taxpayer subsidized housing for the rich.
Robert “Skip” Gebhardt
Whispering Pines
More like this story
Advertisement
Comments
OldPilot 1 year, 9 months ago
The airport has occupied it's present location since 1929. It's called the Moore County Airport because it's owned by Moore County and operated for the use and benefit of the citizens of Moore County who use and need an airport, by an airport authority created by statute. It makes perfect sense for Moore County to spend some funds on property it owns. Aircraft ownerss and operator based at the Moore County Airport are also residents of Moore County who write a check to the Moore County Tax Department every year for real property taxes on their homes and personal property tax on their airplanes. If the existance of the airport makes Zschoche and Gebhart so unhappy they really should move somewhere they find less offensive and quit complaining.
JimHeim 1 year, 9 months ago
That airport should be self-sustaining. There's no excuse for cutting school funds while subsidizing airplane owners.
As a former aircraft owner (who based an aircraft at SOP) I recognize the benefits of having an airport nearby. But a Democrat shouldn't have to explain to a Republican the value of private enterprise.
A while back the airport authority spent millions of public dollars to move the road away from the end of the runway (for safety, they said). Now they propose extending that runway so it's closer to the road. That will cost millions more. Tell me the benefit to the taxpayers again.
OldPilot 1 year, 9 months ago
First, no one is "subsidizing airplane owners". Moore County is spending a small amount of money for various purposes on THE AIRPORT OWNED BY MOORE COUNTY. Second what does Democrat or Republican have to do with anything in this discussion. The airport had been operating under a waiver because the old road system near the airport was too close. Now it isn't. The runway extension will result in a displaced threshold. This means that the new portion can be used for takeoff or roll-out, but not for landing. The approach will not change, no waiver will be required, and larger business jets will be able to take off at a greater gross weight (hense buy with more fuel) and do so with a greater margin of safety. Fuel sales support airports. Even a "former aircraft owner" should be able to figure this stuff out.
JimHeim 1 year, 9 months ago
What a load of stuff. The airport is uses county funds to operate. About that there is no doubt. Are you trying to tell me that fuel sales, hangar rent and aircraft maintenance are breaking even? Please complete the following: County taxpayers should help pay for my hangar rent because ---. County taxpayers should subsidize the cost of my fuel and employ aircraft mechanics to work on my plane at reduced rates because: ---
I used to pay $550/month for a dinky T-hangar. What is SOP charging?
Please explain your problem with socialism. I'm all ears.
TreadLightly 1 year, 9 months ago
I THOUGHT YOU WOULD NEVER ASK. I only have time for a quick outline.
(1) It supresses economic FREEDOM. If you are not free to buy and sell or do business, YOU ARE NOT FREE.
(2) Its adherents tend to be lawless. Look what Obama is doing on every hand to bypass or destroy the supreme law of the land--the Constitution.
(3) Socialism is NOT A STATIC POSITION. It is self-confessed to be a journey toward communism. Greece, Portugal, and some others may crash and burn before they get there. Or go directly to a tyrant when the system collapses from its own unstustainable weight.
(4) Socialism does not tolorate Christianity. Christianity can tolorate socialism, but look who is ruling in the schools, and God's name is not allowed on the school grounds.
Ask again around Tuesday for more detail.
JimHeim 1 year, 9 months ago
Yeah, Denmark, Norway and Sweden are total hellholes. Who would want to live in those repressive countries?
And how do you define socialism? Would using government funds to subsidize guys who like to fly small airplanes count?
TreadLightly 1 year, 9 months ago
Denmark, Norway and Sweden are sinking into economic distress.
Socialism is the central ownership and/or regulation of the economic production of a country. Most modern examples depend on a mixture of capitalism to keep it afloat.
It involves collecting from productive people and redistributing to the lower classes. Many attempts have decended into communism when the central controlling group is filled with power hungry men. (Remember, power corrupts.)
The system never works for long, because redistribution of wealth kills the incentive of the lower class, and they become a larger and larger burden. The producers won't risk their life savings and work 16 hours a day when the tax bite gets up where Obama wants it. (The Jamestown colony had massive starvation for 7 years, until they abandoned socialism.)
In America, our free markets have been effectively undermined by a system of regulations, licences, codes and permits. We can't drill for oil IN OUR OWN STATE, which means that SOMEONE ELSE has control over that production.
The control of the medical care is a huge chunk of our economic production, and it is scheduled to be totally government regulated. It was already half regulated by Medicare.
Airport hangars are hard to figure. They could be redistribution of wealth. THEY ARE THE LEAST OF MY WORRIES ABOUT THE COUNTRY!
I got my commercial, flight instructor, instrument and multi-engine ratings by G.I. Bill. That could be called either redistribution of wealth or benefit of Army service. I wouldn't quibble, but in the late 1960's and 1970's we were not worried about socialism. Most of us didn't even know Bill Ayers.
TreadLightly 1 year, 9 months ago
QUESTION: How long is the hangar mortgage? If not too long, the airport will still collect hangar rent after it is paid for!
There is a market related value to hangar storage, and that is usually about what you can collect. That market value left my old 1959 Piper Tri-Pacer tied down out on the ramp for about $75 a month in 1975 dollars!
THANK YOU, OldPilot for that overun explanation--it will serve SOP well. I was wondering about that extension going back to the road again. You see some large airports that have their ILS approach to the shorter parallel runway, leaving more slots on the long one for heavy airplanes to take-off.
Do you think that some who complain about the cost of the airport would be all for some HIGH SPEED RAIL down to Rockingham or Laurinburg?
JimHeim 1 year, 9 months ago
I'm just glad to see such enthusiasm for socialism. Welcome to my side of the aisle, guys!
OldPilot 1 year, 9 months ago
Socalism? Democrat? Republican? Everything, in some folks minds, comes down to politics, then as the discusstion continues, name calling. If we thought the way Heim does those of us who never have had kids, or whose kids are long beyond school age, should complain because the taxes we have paid for decades, and continue to pay, support schools. Thankfully most of us know better.
JimHeim 1 year, 9 months ago
I can't wait to hear how using taxpayer funding to support private aviation is not socialism.
Bflat 1 year, 9 months ago
The County Commissioners recently decided to use some of the accommodations tax money as funds to support the airport.
I remember when jets from Piedmont Airlines landed there, and of course the CAF fly ins with the big War Birds..
The airport has no room to expand as needed and eventually will need to be relocated elsewhere. Perhaps the new industrial park of Moore/Montgomery will be the location.
fugitiveguy 1 year, 9 months ago
Not a pilot, do not use the airport but I do consider it a significant asset to the county as far as economic developement and its consideration when bringing major golf events to the area. I cannot help but wonder when I drive by what the cost (born by federal taxpayers I suppose) to ensconce the complex in miles of chain link fencing then multiply that by the number of airports across the US. I bet the figure would be staggering.
OldPilot 1 year, 9 months ago
Heim is confusing aviation and airport ownership. There are publicly owned airports such as Raleigh Durham that support airline (Federal Aviation Regulation part 121) operations, as well as charter (FAR Part 135) operations, general aviation (FAR Part 91) operations and maintenance facilities. Some such as the airport at Bozeman, Montana, are joint civilian-military facilities and also include military operations based at the airport. The Moore County Airport is publicly owned and supports charter and general aviation operations, the latter including flight instruction, and maintenance. Public airports are open and available to the public for any type of operation consistent with the Federal Aviation Regulations, see 14 Code of Federal Regulations, the above mentioned FARs are set forth at 14 CFR Sections 91, 121, 135, and there are other sections controlling flight training, maintenance, and everything else concerned with aviation as well. Publicly owned airports, as part of the public infrastructure, are supported by the public entity that owns the facility to a greater or lesser extent depending on the profitability of the facility, and as public owned entities are eligable for federal funds, as well as state and/or local funds. Privately owned airports are just that, privately owned, such as Gilliam-McConnel in Carthage. The private owner may allow the public to use the airport, or may require prior permission to use the airport, or may not allow anyone to use the airport. Federal, state and/or local funding is not available these airports airports, even if they are open to the public, even if they sustain charter and freight operations as well as general aviation (Part 91) ops. The fence is to keep animals and people who don't belong on the airport out and is a standard requirement of both the FAA and TSA. Mr. Heim is just flat wrong, this isn't socialism in any way, shape or form, see http://en.wikiepedia.org/wiki/Socialism.
CaddieMaster 1 year, 9 months ago
The argument that airplane owners need to pay 100% of the mortgage for new hangars is akin to the argument that every driver on a tollway should pay 100% of the cost of the road construction yearly. As a country, or county, or city, we need to occasionally make INVESTMENTS. The market rate for a hangar at Moore County airport is about $500/month - it's ludicrous to expand the hangars there, which enhances the value of the airport to the county, which brings in more fuel sales, and then say that the airport needs to charge 100%of the x year mortgage on building them to the current owner - they would all sit out there vacant generating zero income! The hangars will probably be there for 30 years, recouping their investment many times over for the county. It's basic business sense (at least for someone who is looking out long term for the value of the county), rather than submitting to the simple arguments of one political party or another, who keep telling us we need to manage the country like a family of four (which I guess when a parent loses their job for a year or two, stops sending kids to college in order to make sure that income = expenses...)