Cookeville City Council Member Eric Walker wants more precise budgeting at the Upper Cumberland Regional Airport.
Walker said the airport requested more money from local cities and the county for expenses last year. The Airport Board also enacted $100,000 in additional hangar rent from local pilots this year to cover its operational costs.
“It’s certainly just something that you have to keep an eye on,” Walker said. “I’ve always been very financially aware and keep looking at how things grow. And one of the biggest duties of anybody who’s an elected official is keeping an eye on the money.”
Walker said his primary concern involved $126,000 stored in an employee wage fund within the budget. Walker said that while the airport might not spend the money, the funds were still budgeted alongside requests for increased local tax support over the past two years.
“If you don’t budget, overbudget in certain categories you should be able to afford the expenses and be able to include them on the budget without asking for more money,” Walker said. “We just need to keep an eye on the budget.”
Walker said local pilots are facing rent increases of 50 to 60 percent or higher for space that can only be used to store aircraft.
Walker said the growth of Nashville is pushing market prices toward the Upper Cumberland, and he wants to ensure the airport continues to benefit local residents rather than those from further away.
“We have a lot of local pilots who are local to the Putnam County and White County area who utilize the airport and you know if those expenses get too high the cost for them to participate in flying gets too much and we don’t want to see that the only people who can fly aircraft at the Upper Cumberland Regional Airport are only those who can afford it,” Walker said.
Walker said it was difficult to obtain answers regarding the airport surplus and budget until a recent meeting. Walker said the airport recently passed a policy requiring specific forms for information requests, but he believes officials from funding entities like Cookeville should have better communication with management.
“I think that they should be able to freely communicate with the airport management staff and understand where their money is being spent,” Walker said. “I’ve been around the airport my whole life. I’ve been involved my whole life, been a pilot since I was seventeen years old. We’ve got a great airport. We’ve got good people who run our airport, and so we’ve got a real gem in the general aviation community here in the Upper Cumberland.”
Walker said the airport remains vital to the regional economy because its long runway and fuel cells support businesses moving to the area.
As the airport grows, Walker said it needs to budget accurately to ensure funds are available for maintenance on more hangars and future projects.
“It’s allowed many very large businesses to come to the Upper Cumberland and invest in the Upper Cumberland and we need to keep pushing that forward,” Walker said.