State approves money for airports

The state Transportation Commission this week approved money for fix up and repair projects at the state’s airports. Tim McClung of the Office of Aviation says the airports will get more money in the next fiscal year than they’re getting in the current year. He says the current fiscal year funding levels are right around two-point-twomilliondollars, and the money approved for 2006 is two-point-eightmilliondollars. McClung says the state money supplements a lot of the federal programs that provide funding to airports. He says the state funding comes from the general fund, and then money from fuel taxes, sales taxes for aircraft and registration fees for aircraft goes back into the general fund to offset the money paid out. This money will help meet the immediate needs of airports, and McClung says the D-O-T is in the midst of a study to find out how much they may have to spend down the road. He says that study will be released in the next few months and give them a better idea of what the long-term needs are for airports. He says it’ll hopefully let them know what they need to do to keep the airports running for the next 20 years. You can find out more about the airport funding at: www.iawings.com.