MAHONING COUNTY Officials to give funds to airport

Officials are hoping the state Legislature will provide long-term funding.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County officials are hoping they've punted the political football of funding the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport for the last time.
Commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to provide the Western Reserve Port Authority with $100,000 from the county's economic development fund. The cash will be used to help the port authority pay operating expenses at the airport, which is in Trumbull County.
They will also ask the Youngstown/Mahoning County Convention & amp; Visitors Bureau to make a one-time contribution of $50,000, which would be used for marketing the airport, said Commissioner Ed Reese.
Looking to Columbus
Commissioners and other local leaders will turn their attention to Columbus, where Auditor George Tablack said legislation is "percolating" that could provide long-term funding for the airport.
Tablack said there is bipartisan discussion about legislation that would allow county commissioners to increase the county's lodging tax above what's already on the books for funding visitors bureaus. The additional revenue would be earmarked for distribution to port authorities for airport operations, he said.
"We believe there is a friendly climate in the Legislature to provide a funding stream for port authorities on a permissive basis," Tablack said.
The WRPA, whose members are appointed by commissioners in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, is in charge of operating the airport. The two counties have historically split the cost of operating expenses.
The port authority asked for $182,000 from each county this year, and Trumbull County has already pledged its share. Mahoning County, though, has struggled to decide where the money would come from for its share.
Tablack has urged commissioners to find a stable revenue source for the port authority so it can operate efficiently. He said the issue rears its head each year and keeps commissioners from addressing other, more pressing issues.
"This political football game of airport funding has had more quarters than Ohio State's national championship game," Tablack said.
Tablack's optimism
He said the legislative option being bandied about in Columbus is a solid idea, and he's cautiously optimistic that it will pass.
"I expect there will be opposition from somewhere," Tablack said. "But I'm hoping that we can all work together to get this approved."
State Rep. John Boccieri of New Middletown, D-61st, said area lawmakers hope to have the language attached to the state budget, which is set to go into effect July 1.
"We're working as diligently as possible to make this happen," Boccieri said, noting that the plan has support of both Republicans and Democrats. "Obviously, we have to win support from other legislators."
Reese has pushed his colleagues for weeks to provide the port authority with short-term funding while they looked for long-range alternatives. For him, Thursday's vote was a relief.
"I didn't think it needed to take this long, but the end result is what counts," he said.
bjackson@vindy.com