Commission holds vote on airport fee update after tenants allege conflict of interest

The Clark County Board of Commissioners on Thursday paused action on an ordinance that would update rental rates, fees and transient parking discounts at county general aviation airports after public commenters pressed the board to delay amid conflict-of-interest and fairness concerns.

County senior aviation officials said the proposal updates maximum allowable rates at North Las Vegas, Henderson, Jean and Overton airports and adds two new aircraft-size categories. Jim Chrisley, senior director of aviation, told commissioners, “We are not proposing to go right to those maximum rates.” The department said it aimed to align fees with market surveys and to recover costs after about 15 years without an update.

The measure drew lengthy public comment from hangar owners, pilots and tenants who said the changes would raise costs for small aircraft operators and criticized the county for what they called preferential treatment of one fuel vendor. “This will raise costs for all local airport users, give preferential treatment to one private company and rapidly erode public trust,” said Stephanie Phillips, political affairs director with Veterans in Politics. Several speakers alleged a conflict involving county staff and a fuel vendor; commenters asked for a pause while ethics and FAA grant-assurance issues were reviewed.

County staff and an airport CFO disputed several of the claims. Rosemary Vasiliades, director of aviation, said tenants were notified in May and the department held follow-up meetings and published notices for the business-impact statement. “We hold quarterly meetings with our tenants,” she said. Joe Perkowski, airport chief financial officer, told the board the airports are funded by user fees, not tax dollars, and that the county has subsidized general aviation in prior years. “There’s no tax money involved in this at all. It’s all user fees,” Perkowski said.

Public commenters pressed three lines of concern: that tenant rates would sharply increase without parallel service improvements; that the fee schedule funnels transient parking discounts to customers who purchase fuel from a single vendor; and that a county staff member has ties to the vendor. Representative complaints included allegations that facilities and maintenance at North Las Vegas Airport have degraded, that smaller businesses and veteran-owned flight schools are being squeezed out, and that fuel-linked discounts create a de facto preference for large corporate activity.

After extended public comment and department responses, Commissioner Becker moved and the board voted to hold the item for two weeks. “If there’s an issue of conflicts of interest and there are parties that are involved that work for the airport and are also benefiting from a contract that would be entered into, I am very uncomfortable with that,” Becker said before the motion to hold. The board set the item for reconsideration at the Sept. 2 meeting and directed staff to meet with tenants in the interim.

Why it matters: general aviation airports are used by small businesses, private pilots, veterans, flight schools and corporate aviation. Tenants and small operators told the board that steep fee increases or policies that tie parking discounts to a single fuel vendor would change who can afford to operate on the field and could trigger legal or FAA funding risks if non‑discrimination assurances are violated.

Next steps: The board held the ordinance until Sept. 2 and asked staff to meet with tenant groups and report back. The county also said it would provide detailed line‑item justifications for the increase and clarify how fuel‑purchase discounts are administered and documented.

Votes and action: The board voted to hold the Title 20 ordinance until the Sept. 2 meeting; the motion passed on a recorded voice vote with no tally noted in the transcript.