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Airport board reviews midyear finances, hears ARW fuel accounting explanation and approves routine operating agreement change
Summary
Board members reviewed six'month financials for Hilton Head and ARW airports, discussed timing-driven payroll and inventory variances, heard that jet fuel year'end inventory was about $121,000, and approved a commercial operating agreement name change at Beaufort Executive.
Brian presented the six'month financial report for the airports, noting several revenue increases and expense timing issues. For Hilton Head (HXD), he highlighted ramp fee growth of about $108,000, security fee increases of about $21,000 and rent increases near $118,000 tied to cost recovery with airlines. On expenses, he cited a payroll and related variance of roughly $164,000, which he said was largely a timing issue driven by the county'booked group insurance and recent compensation adjustments.
On ARW, Brian said revenue at the bottom line was modestly lower year'to'date and flagged jet fuel inventory at fiscal year end as about $121,000 in the tank. Steve, the ARW fuel expert, explained that inventory accounting makes purchases appear as expense until fuel is sold and that end'of'year inventory can distort comparisons between purchased fuel and recorded revenue: "When these numbers are taken and specifically at the end of the year, how much inventory we have in the tank can offset what our revenues are going to be," he said. Board members discussed cost of goods sold, inventory timing and the effect on midyear presentation; no accounting adjustments were adopted at the meeting.
Brian also described capital purchases (vehicles, airfield tools, an EV charging station, HVAC replacements) that contributed to a reported capital outlay line; he said some local grant match and ARPA funds were applied to site development items. Members asked that future financial slides be distributed with the meeting packet and accompanied by a short bullet summary explaining large variances.
Under new business, John introduced a commercial operating agreement at Beaufort Executive that only changed the owner's name on an existing flight training contract. The chair called for a motion; after a second was announced the chair declared the motion passed with no opposition.
Board members closed by discussing general aviation operations trends at Hilton Head (noting a decline in GA operations since 2021) and next steps for committee structure and advocacy.
