From The Owen Sound Sun Times – link to source story
Denis Langlois, December 2, 2020 | Updated December 4, 2020
Owen Sound is planning to introduce landing fees at the Owen Sound Billy Bishop Regional Airport to help reduce the amount of property tax money required to operate and maintain the facility.
Council supported a recommendation from city manager Tim Simmonds Monday directing staff to both provide notice of the city’s intent and bring forward a bylaw to amend Owen Sound’s fees and charges bylaw to add airport landing fees. They would be introduced in January.
The city intends to phase in the fees, starting at $35 for aircraft weighing under 5,000 kilograms and $70 for heavier aircraft.
Simmonds said in a report that the net cost to city taxpayers of operating and maintaining the airport has increased from $100,000 in 2004 to $228,000 in 2020.
Coun. Travis Dodd said that information is the most important part of the report.
“If this is a way for us to bring extra revenue into the budget line to help keep this going, I’m more than happy to move the recommendation,” he said.
The airport, located on Highway 26 east of Owen Sound, sees an average of 2,888 flight movements annually, based on the past four years of data.
Simmonds said city officials project the proposed landing fees will generate an additional $100,000 in annual gross revenue for the airport.
Staff is planning to present recommended landing fees for 2022 late in 2021, based on information compiled during the first year, such as flight movements, fuel sales and landing fees collected.
Based on the four-year average of flight movements at the airport, Simmonds said he estimates the city would have to charge a landing fee of $90 to ensure the airport operates at 90 per cent cost-neutral to property taxpayers.
However, that calculation doesn’t consider things like potential drops in fuel sales and flight movements as a result of the landing fees.
Simmonds noted the airport will require about $1.3 million in upgrades – mostly to resurface the runway – in the next five years.
On a question from Dodd, Simmonds said a majority of airports, including the nearby Wiarton Keppel International Airport in Georgian Bluffs, impose landing fees.