HIGHFILL -- Northwest Arkansas National Airport directors voted to recommend a raise for their executive director, but only after some soul searching.
The board's Personnel Committee is recommending Aaron Burkes receive a 3% pay hike, taking his annual salary from $225,000 per year to $231,750. The recommendation must be approved by the full airport authority board. The increase would take effect Jan. 1.
The decision was delayed from earlier this year due to financial uncertainty resulting from the covid-19 pandemic, which saw traffic and revenue at the airport tank. An $8.2 million federal grant has helped airport officials keep their heads above water and keep employees on the payroll during the downturn.
Committee Chairman Phil Phillips said he compared salary and raises of other chief executive officers in the region over the last two years as a basis for the 3% recommendation.
"I assumed that these other gentlemen who held these positions, between 2018 and now, got at least a 3% raise," Phillips said. He proposed a 4% increase for Burkes.
Several personnel committee members said they were concerned with how the "optics" of giving their chief executive a raise amid the economic uncertainty of a pandemic would play in the Northwest Arkansas. The desire to reward Burkes for his work during the crisis carried the day.
"I'm very satisfied with our leadership," said Jonathan Barnett, a committee member. "Just as a private sector person, when your business is off, how does the public perceive you when you start giving everybody increases? The market is completely off in the industry we're talking about. Those are just some of my concerns."
Tom Lundstrum, another committee member, proposed 3%.
Philip Taldo, a committee member, proposed a more conservative 2.2% increase, which is what state employees got this year. He suggested the issue could be reconsidered when revenue improves.
"It would be hard to criticize us if we stuck to what the state did this fiscal year," Taldo said.
Other airport employees have received raises of varying degrees during the last year.
The committee members also asked for information on salaries for the management teams at area businesses, with an eye on making salaries for the Northwest National management team more competitive than they have been in recent years.
They further asked Burkes take steps to get all employee raises on the same schedule to ease budgeting.
Employees are eligible for reviews and raises on the anniversary date of their hiring.
Ron Wood can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWARDW.