wrote in message
ups.com...

Well-well, read 'em and weep:

A top official at DuPage Airport made a cautious prediction Tuesday
that the airport could accomplish by 2009 what DuPage politicians have
been urging for more than a decade--eliminate its need for property-tax
revenues.

"In five years, it is very likely that there would be no tax levy at
all," said Daniel Goodwin, Airport Authority board chairman.

Goodwin made the prediction toward the end of a 40-minute presentation
to the DuPage County Board, during which he ticked off the changes that
he and other allies of County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom have
made since they took control of the Airport Authority board in 2003

The authority is a quasi-independent government agency responsible for
operating the busy general-aviation field. But its nine-member board is
appointed by the DuPage County Board chairman, and Schillerstrom is the
latest in a succession of politically ambitious chairmen who have
promised to remove the airport from the property-tax rolls.

Once used mostly by recreational pilots, the West Chicago airfield
launched an ambitious expansion plan in the late 1980s to attract more
corporate jet traffic.

The project resulted in longer runways and first-class facilities, as
well as a temporary spike in property taxes that made the authority a
target for criticism.

"It was almost like they were an independent nation out there, with
**********no accountability**************
to the taxpayers," Schillerstrom said.

That has changed, he said.

"I think they've turned the corner. I'm very proud of what they're
doing," Schillerstrom said. "My goal is to get them off the taxes as
soon as possible." (before we leave IRAQ?, the race is on)

The Airport Authority now collects about $6.5 million annually in real
estate taxes--about 20 percent of its $29.9 million a year budget. None
of the property-tax revenue is used to pay airport operating costs.
Instead, the funds are used to retire debt.

The $12.8 million in long-term debt is scheduled to be paid off in
2007, at which time the property-tax levy could be cut in half, Goodwin
said.

But the airport expects to borrow money to finance the construction of
a hangar addition. Goodwin said he is cautious about promising to
eliminate the need for property-tax funds until the airport is
debt-free and until a proposed high-technology research center on
airport-owned land along Roosevelt Road and Fabyan Parkway begins
generating revenues for the authority.

(SO, don't bet the kids college tuition on it. The TECH PARK
is a JOKE, miles away from the tollway and high office vacancies
already.-JG)

But for the first time, officials say, it appears that operating
revenues from hangar leases, the sale of aviation fuel and other fees
are enough to cover the day-to-day costs of running the airport.

(ALOT of Maybes, and It Appears)

The bottom-line has been helped by nearly $1 million in cost savings
implemented by the board, Goodwin said, including reducing paid
holidays for staff, eliminating the airport's lobbyist and ending
employee junkets.

Also Tuesday, airport officials defended security at the field after
reports that daytime patrols by private security guards were
eliminated.

David Bird, the airport's executive director, said the field is now
patrolled by West Chicago police officers and DuPage sheriff's
deputies. He also noted that more than 30 airport employees in
radio-equipped vehicles typically are on the field during the day.

Bird said the airport is shifting money in its budget to implement
other security measures, including surveillance cameras.

"We think we have actually increased the level of security because we
now have trained officers from law enforcement agencies doing patrol,
instead of unarmed private security firm personnel," he said.


Are you a product of the Chicago school system?

If you had actually read that piece you may have noticed this sentence:

"None of the property-tax revenue is used to pay airport operating costs."