Airport pays off sewer bills

Staff report

VIENNA

Thanks to improved revenue, the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport has paid off $28,180 in past-due sewer bills owed to the Trumbull County Sanitary Engineer’s Office.

At Wednesday’s meeting of the Western Reserve Port Authority, which runs the airport, Erinn Rogers, accounting and business manager, reported that the sewer bill was current as of the end of last month.

Dan Dickten, director of aviation, said the airport paid about $3,000 per month since last fall to bring the account current.

Port authority members revealed in August 2010 that the airport had gotten more than a year behind on its sewer payments because of financial shortfalls starting in 2009.

The airport had not paid its sewer bill between March 2009 and May 2010, officials said.

Rex Fee, executive director of the sanitary engineer’s office, said officials believed it was proper to be flexible with the airport because of its importance to the community and because it was having financial difficulties. Dickten said additional revenue from parking, car rentals, the airport restaurant and leases with airport tenants have enabled the airport to do better financially.

Trumbull County also increased its hotel-motel tax in December 2010 by 1 percent to provide the airport with an additional $125,000 per year. The revenue from that tax started to flow into the airport in June 2011, Dickten said.

Dickten said airport officials still are in talks with Mahoning County officials about increasing its hotel-motel tax.