Airport money found, but questions remain

By Scott NeufeldMonday, January 8, 2007 http://www.dailycourier.ca/article_860.php

Money missing from the airport budget has been located but questions remain on whether the funds were properly spent.At a committee of the whole meeting in November, city finance manager Rob Mayne said there was a discrepancy in the Vernon Regional Airport Corporation’s budget. He said more than $100,000 in expenditures had been misrepresented in the corporation budget.

An updated capital expense report that will be presented at this morning’s Committee of the Whole meeting reveals that the money had been diverted into funding a fuel delivery system for the airport in 2005.“Now we’ve got some answers but we don’t have all the answers,” said Coun. Barry Beardsell. “I don’t have the old paperwork to see if that was the kind of money we approved for spending on that fuel facility.”Beardsell said he thought the corporation was going to spend the money on extending the runway and taxiway not upgrading fuel services.

With all of the recent improvements the city has paid for and the business plans that were done, he said he still doesn’t know in which direction the airport is trying to go.“I would like to see an overall game plan,” he said. “We’ve had two studies done in the last year and I’m not confident with the overall direction.

Taxpayers pay $250,000 each year to the airport to pay for capital improvements. Although the airport had saved more than $500,000 in their capital fund, with the runway extension this year the reserve has dwindled down to about $113,000 according to the capital account.With the capital account diminishing rapidly the airport corporation is asking for $415,627 to extend the taxiway this year. The request would mean that taxpayers would have to cough up an additional $300,000 or a more than one per cent increase in taxes to pay for the improvement.

If the extension really is necessary Beardsell said it might be time for the regional district to start pitching in to improve the airport.“NORD is so enamored by economic development so does NORD want to contribute if it’s so essential,” he said. “I do think (the airport) has resulted in some good business opportunities in that area, but my question is, is this really a City of Vernon thing or should it be a regional thing.”