LITTLE ROCK -- Northwest Arkansas National Airport officials won the Legislature's approval Thursday to deannex from Highfill, should they so choose. Now they have to figure out what happens next.
The House of Representatives approved Senate Bill 414 by a 71-12 vote, with six voting present. The measure amends the state's Regional Airport Authority Act to allow regional airport authorities to deannex from a city. A provision to allow the authority to tax businesses operating at the airport was removed from the bill earlier. The deannexation provision will only apply to Northwest Arkansas National Airport.
The bill, which now only needs the governor's signature to become law, allows the airport's board to choose to leave Highfill by a two-thirds vote.
"We are pleased that the General Assembly recognized the importance of an independent airport authority that is focused on serving the Northwest Arkansas region without the burden of being part of a nonmember municipality," Aaron Burkes, airport CEO, said after the vote. "We look forward to productive discussions with our board and the leadership of Highfill. We hope that those discussions lead to a great relationship with Highfill while simultaneously benefiting the airport's customers."
Highfill Mayor Chris Holland said Thursday he's not sure where things will go from here.
"I guess we'll find out. I'm still trying to process it all. Basically, the way the law's written, it's whatever they want," Holland said. "I guess it's in their court now. I don't know."
There was opposition to the bill Thursday. Rep. Delia Haak, R-Centerton, who represents House District 17, which includes a portion of Benton County but not the airport, said it left numerous, serious questions unanswered, primarily about the 2% sales taxes Highfill currently collects from airport vendors and uses to pay outstanding water and sewer bonds. That amounts to about $600,000 per year.
Airport officials say Highfill's outstanding bonds would be paid as part of any detachment from the city, whether through a lump sum or continuation of the sales tax until the bonds are paid in full in 2038, leaving the city no debt.
Haak noted the Airport Authority is not authorized to levy and collect taxes and if the airport detaches and is no longer in the city, then the city would not be able to collect the taxes either, she said. It's also unclear whether the sales tax could be extended somehow to pay off the bonds, she said.
"If the airport, under the new bill, without all these questions being answered before we pass a new airport bill, before we have a fiscal impact done on a city, we are talking about killing a city. I kid you not," Haak said. "What happens to those sales taxes is unknown under the law."
Haak said Highfill, like every other city in the state, needs sales taxes to survive.
Haak also argued the issue needed to be resolved by Highfill and the Airport Authority rather than the Legislature.
"I would just ask you at this time to vote no, save a city and give them two more years to work out an agreement and not ask the General Assembly to come in before a court decides who's right in this case and settle this for them," Haak said. "We don't need to do that."
Airport officials have said the bill allows the airport to operate the way it was intended before Highfill annexed the area, independent of any city or county. They also argued that none of the sales tax money now collected is spent on the airport. Northwest Arkansas National Airport has its own fire and police and takes care of roads and other infrastructure on airport property.
Rep. David Whitaker, D-Fayetteville, said Haak's argument was filled with exaggerations and inaccuracies. He added it was promised to the five cities and two counties which formed the Airport Authority that it would remain an independent entity, which is what the bill allows.
"I'll also point out that the gentle lady enumerated a list of cities that were against this bill," Whitaker said. "The good news is they all have one thing in common: not one of them sit on this board, not one of them has ever put a red cent into building or maintaining this airport."
A look back
Northwest Arkansas National Airport opened in November 1998 after an eight-year process of planning and construction. It replaced Fayettevilles Drake Field as the regions main airport with scheduled airline passenger flights.
Five cities and two counties originally agreed to form the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport Authority in 1990. Highfill has never been a member of the Airport Authority.
Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers, Siloam Springs and Springdale each appoint two members to the board, as do Benton and Washington counties. The boards purpose is to build, operate and maintain the facility, including runways, structures, roads, staff and finances required to operate the airport.
Source: NWA Democrat-Gazette