CAA: GA News, "Centennial Airport May Ask for Bump in Taxes from Arapahoe County, Colo., Homeowners"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Tuesday, March 12, 2002

Airport May Ask for Bump in Taxes from Arapahoe County, Colo.,
Homeowners
The Denver (CO) Post


Arapahoe County homeowners could be paying more property taxes each year
under a plan aimed at raising money for financially troubled Centennial
Airport.

Voters in November may be asked to raise $2 million annually by boosting
property taxes about $10 for every $100,000 of a home's assessed value,
airport Director Robert Olislagers said Monday.

Robert Heidemann, a resident of the newly formed city of Centennial in
Arapahoe County, said he's not in favor of a tax increase to support the
airport.

"The airport seems primarily geared to the private flier rather than the
flying public," Heidemann said. "I'd vote against it."

The tax proposal, from an airport authority-appointed finance committee,
is one of three long-term measures designed to restore Centennial's
financial health.

The airport, one of the nation's busiest general aviation facilities,
lost $2 million in annual federal money when the board refused to allow
scheduled airline service at Centennial. The airport caters to
small-plane corporate and private fliers.

Airport officials worried that scheduled service with planes of up to 30
seats could add significantly to airport traffic and noise.

But the finance committee is recommending that Centennial rescind its
ban on scheduled service if it is confined to planes of nine seats or
less.

Federal rules require airports like Centennial to serve carriers flying
planes of 30 seats or less if they want to qualify for federal funding.

Six years ago, Congress changed the 30-seat limit to nine seats.
However, the Federal Aviation Administration still hasn't written the
rules for the nine-seat limit.

Olislagers said if the FAA writes the new rules and implements them by
the end of the year, Centennial would be eligible for the $2 million in
federal money next year and the airport could cancel the property-tax
proposal.

Some aviation experts say there is little chance that an airline could
succeed financially at Centennial flying scheduled service with planes
of nine seats or less. But a carrier might make a go of it flying with
30-seat aircraft.

"Nine-seat service will have no measurable impact on communities
surrounding the airport," another airport committee said in a report.

The Centennial finance committee also recommended that the airport's
board pursue federal legislation that would allow any general aviation
airport to ban all scheduled service if it is within 25 nautical miles
of a commercial airport that already serves passengers.

Because Centennial is less than 25 nautical miles from Denver
International Airport, such a law, if passed, would allow the Arapahoe
County airport to prohibit all scheduled service.

The Centennial committee also suggested the airport board come up with
"interim financing" totalling $2.1 million a year to pay for airport
improvements.

That total includes a $1.5 million contribution from Arapahoe County and
$300,000 from Douglas County and cities near the airport. Another
$300,000 would be raised by keeping a surcharge on aviation fuel sales.


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