County staff urge more data before raising hangar rents; enterprise fund shows modest reserves

Jared (assistant county administrator) presented the airport’s operating overview and said his recommendation was not to raise hangar rents at this time while the committee reviews expenses and considers a multi‑year budget and reserve strategy.

“We don’t touch the rental increases right now, but we talk about the expenses. We provide you information to chew on, to make decisions with, and then we can revisit that at a later date,” Jared said, walking the committee through a packet of budget and expenditure reports.

Jared said recent grant and project revenues have offset many capital costs, but recurring non‑grant operating costs have risen. He said the airport currently has a little over $341,000 in liquid cash available on the balance sheet for emergencies and projects. Committee members asked how much of typical county labor and administrative costs are paid by the airport fund; Jared said many salaries and administrative overhead are charged to the county general fund and that only one employee—Deb—is paid from the Peter Prince fund.

The committee discussed the Leonardo tenant’s current occupancy and future new facility. A board member proposed that “when Leonardo does move out and starts occupying county land adjacent to Whiting that all of the revenue generated there remain in the aviation enterprise fund,” and staff noted that the ultimate decision would be made by the Board of County Commissioners.

Committee members asked staff to develop a five‑year budget projection tied to anticipated capital projects and to define a reserve target to guide any future rent decisions. Staff agreed to provide a longer projection and additional financial details, including the county’s audit and balance sheets.