Council wastes $8000 a day instead of refinancing airport

If the Colorado Springs Airport doesn't make a comeback soon, despite new management and tireless work by an all-star 'task force,' talk to the City Council. For some reason, the council chose Monday to waste $8,000 a day - at a rate of $240,000 a month and $2.8 million a year - that could otherwise bring more flights, passengers and lower fares to Colorado Springs.

Airport administration asked Oct. 13 for an emergency ordinance that would help it reduce overhead and reverse the exodus of passengers and flights. The council declined the request Monday and voted Tuesday for a slower, more conventional outcome.

The request for emergency debt relief came after new management and a 'task force,' made up of some of Colorado's top business achievers, found wasteful airport overhead. Inefficiencies make the airport too expensive for airlines and passengers, which leads most travelers to opt for Denver International Airport. Without a flourishing airport, tourism suffers and the city has a hard time recruiting premium employers and high-wage executives.

Saving the airport from irreversible stall became an emergency the day Frontier Airlines pulled out in February. Lowering costs has become an emergency. Lowering costs means reducing debt and shopping for better rates - right now, while we know low interest can be found.

The airport sits on $16 million in reserves that earn 0.68 percent. It is, effectively, money under a mattress. Meanwhile, the airport pays on a pile of old debt that costs 5 percent. It doesn't take a mathematician to see the obvious move. Use reserves to pay off debt and save a whopping amount on unnecessary interest. Pass along savings with lower fees to airlines, which can then lower fares. Leave execution of the plan with those entrusted to manage the enterprise. It's simple stuff.

Given this obvious option for course correction, airport officials wanted an emergency ordinance that would allow them to immediately pay down debt and refinance the balance at a substantial overnight savings. The emergency ordinance would have instantly stopped the $8,000-a-day hemorrhage.

Council members Joel Miller and Don Knight objected, explaining it just didn't feel like an emergency. They convinced peers the matter could wait. Council members exuded a desire to micromanage the plan, raising the prospect of additional testing and consulting that could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. They discussed the opportunity to belabor details, including who has final authority to approve a refinance transaction. They want to do it the old-fashioned government way, which means Colorado Springs cannot compete against airports that quickly adapt to changing conditions.

By choosing political indolence, the council delayed this opportunity by at least two weeks and possibly more. If all goes well, and the council doesn't demand costly expert advice on a simple equation, a final decision will come two weeks and $120,000 later. It's a needless impediment to the airport's effort to attract new airlines and passengers, which means a longer wait for anticipated new revenues. The delay jeopardizes efforts to keep existing flights. It tells airlines that Colorado Springs cannot adapt fast.

The council should lollygag on airport finances like paramedics should break for tea as a patient spews blood. An $8,000-a-day leak should be seen as an emergency.

The six-figure decision to slow progress came during a meeting in which Miller demanded attorney advice about gaining more control over the budget.

This community cannot prosper if elected officials obsess over control, rather than constructive outcomes. It cannot succeed if politicians won't accept good ideas without regard for who gets credit. It cannot afford $120,000 in interest for the indulgence of a power play. This isn't a game.

The request for immediate relief of airport waste was common sense. The decision to waste six figures of capital means for the next two weeks business as usual. It means spending $8,000 - a day - that could otherwise move us forward.