Task force: SGF airport should change governance. What does it mean for travelers, workers?

The Springfield-Branson National Airport should migrate away from city governance, and instead become part of a regional airport authority, a task force recommends.

The Airport Task Force, created by City Council earlier this year to look into the question of whether city government should consider letting go of some authority over the airport, presented its findings to city leaders on Tuesday.

If a regional airport authority is established in Springfield, it would be the first of its kind in Missouri.

What would a transition to a regional airport authority mean for the 1 million passengers that travel through the Springfield airport each year? 

Jim Anderson, co-chair of the airport board of directors, said travelers "wouldn't see much change at all."

He said a transition of governance would likely take between six and 12 months. To the average person, it should be a "seamless" transition, Anderson said.

The reason the city is considering a change of governance has to do more with the business aspects of an airport.

Currently, the airport is owned by the city, but has a separate budget. The airport is funded by money generated at the airport through user fees, rates and charges and state and federal grants. It doesn't receive any local taxes.

Because it's a city department, the airport must follow city rules and policies. Under a regional airport authority, it could be more flexible to pursue opportunities to grow. Leadership would be solely focused on making business decisions to advance the airport, Anderson said.

Coming under the governance of a regional airport authority would allow the airport to explore other ways of making money. For example, Anderson said, allowing for an airline to open a maintenance facility on its grounds, or allowing a hotel to be built on airport property.

It would also give the airport the ability to respond quickly to new opportunities and changes, Anderson said. He cited an example where the Northwest Arkansas Airport Authority was able to accept a limited time offer of federal grant funds within hours, instead of having to wait for a more cumbersome approval process.

What would a switch mean for airport employees?

There are about 100 people who work at the airport full time and are considered employees of the city of Springfield. One major priority of the task force, Anderson said, was that any change should "do no harm" to existing employees.

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The task force strongly recommends that there be no reduction in pay or benefits for airport employees. Whether that means keeping them in the same system, or moving them to a new one with similar benefits is yet to be seen.

There are ways, Anderson said, to keep employees in their current retirement program, even if the airport became a separate entity from the city, as long as the regional airport authority remained a political subdivision.

For the approximately 2,000 other people who work for private businesses located at the airport, such as Expedia, there should be no impact, according to Aviation Director Brian Weiler.

"They probably would not notice any change at all," Weiler said.

If the city were to go with the task force's recommendation, there are a lot of details that must be considered. 

Should City Council lease airport property to the new authority, or to deed it over?

Does the creation of a regional airport authority require a change in state law or City Charter?

The task force asked for City Council to create an "Airport Authority Implementation Committee" to help answer these questions and more.

Another recommendation was for the appointment process to the airport board to remain the same, except allow for "greater regional representation" from people who live outside of the Springfield area.

The 11-member airport board is appointed by the city manager, then confirmed by City Council.

Airport Task Force process

The task force was made up of nine individuals, with representatives from City Council, the airport board of directors, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitors Bureau and Ozarks Technical Community College.

They met seven times between July and November. They looked at examples of existing regional airport authorities and visited the regional authority located in Bentonville, Arkansas. They also heard from a variety of community stakeholders.