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Lansing Municipal Airport interfund loan eliminated

Village Board approves accounting adjustment

by Melanie Jongsma

LANSING, Ill. (June 20, 2018) – At the June 19 Village Board meeting, Administrator Dan Podgorski requested a motion recommending the “approval of a transfer for the purpose of eliminating an interfund loan from the general fund to the airport fund as of April 30, 2018, in the amount of $3,956,496.73.”

Podgorski had explained at the June 5 Committee of the Whole meeting that the main source of airport income is user fees from people who rent hangar space at the Lansing Municipal Airport. That type of income qualifies to be categorized as an “enterprise fund.” Because of that categorization, when expenses exceeded income, the Village was covering those expenses with an interfund loan. At the June 19 Village Board meeting Podgorski acknowledged again that the airport’s user fees will likely never be enough of an income source to cover all the expenses associated with the airport—building maintenance, property maintenance, staff salaries and benefits, etc. So under the current accounting system, the Village would always have unpaid loans on its books, which has a negative impact on the Village’s bond rating.

The accounting adjustment would allow the Lansing Municipal Airport budget to be funded by the general fund in the same way that other department budgets are funded.

Trustee Tony Delaurentis made a motion to accept the recommendation of the Village auditors and Finance Department and essentially forgive the interfund loan. Trustee Jerry Zeldenrust seconded the motion, and the motion carried unanimously.

With an improved bond rating the Village of Lansing can qualify for better interest rates when loans are needed for large projects.

 

Melanie Jongsma
Melanie Jongsma
Melanie Jongsma grew up in Lansing, Illinois, and believes The Lansing Journal has an important role to play in building community through trustworthy information.

1 COMMENT

  1. Thank you for providing a clear explanation of this particular village board agenda item. If the airport user fees will most likely never cover operation costs, I am curious to know how much the airport costs Lansing taxpayers each year and why we are keeping a non profitable enterprise open. Is it possible to make it profitable in the future?

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