 | Legal Opinion:
Reference Documents:
Text of Document: October 25, 1993
After we spoke the other day I called John Shofner, City Attorney for the City of Shelbyville regarding their airport authority and Doug Bishop, City Manager for the City of Springfield about their airport board. I noticed in their municipal codes that the two cities chose two different statutes in establishing their airports; Shelbyville under TCA § 42-3-101 et seq. and Springfield under TCA §42-5-101 et seq. I was interested in finding out the advantages and disadvantages to both kinds of entities since the statutes are very similar.
What I discovered is that Springfield would have set up an authority except that the statute, as it existed at that time, only allowed for three-member commissions and they wanted a five-member board. They were instrumental in getting the statute amended to allow for five-member boards and are now in the process of switching to the authority. He had the following comments regarding disadvantages of the airport board, which operates as a separate department of the city:
1. Any time the airport board wishes to exercise any of the powers, be it acquiring or condemning property, contracting with various entities or applying for and receiving state and federal grants, they must go to both the county commission and the city council to get approval and signatures. He said this is a particularly cumbersome process;
2. Because the airport operates as a municipal department it is subject to the same purchasing and bidding and budgeting requirements that the city is subject to. An authority, as a separate political entity, may establish its own procedures for purchasing, bidding, and budgeting.
In short, the authority may operate more easily than an airport board that is tied to the governmental entities that establish it. I am enclosing copies of both Springfield and
Shelbyville ordinances setting up the airport. Both may be modified to create an entity suitable to the City and the County. I have also asked Mr. Shofner to send a copy of the certificate of incorporation they filed with the Secretary of State and as soon as I receive it I will forward that as well.
If you would like to talk about this further please call. Thanks for asking MTAS to help.
Sincerely,
Leslie Shechter
Legal Consultant |