Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport officials are studying their options after seeing Lovell Field's stormwater fee soar to $330,000, up over five-fold from $62,000 in 2009.
Airport Authority members have agreed to pay for an analysis of its revenues and expenses as it readies a new budget.
"It will help determine if we're recovering all our costs and if not, how best to recover our expenses," said April Cameron, the airport's vice president of finance.
Mike Landguth, Airport Authority president, said officials also are eyeing credits for environmental work done at Lovell Field to help reduce the stormwater fee.
"We're evaluating information to see if we qualify," he said.
Mr. Landguth said the airport's stormwater fees "increased with everyone else in the county."
Richard Beeland, a spokesman for Mayor Ron Littlefield, said there is a lot of impervious surface at the airport which pushes runoff into nearby waterways and for which the city is responsible.
"It's just part of the process they'll have to budget for," he said. "If we're going to count on that money to run the water quality program, we either need to count on it or we don't."
The City Council has faced criticism since October 2009, when it voted to sharply increase the city's water quality fee.
An independent committee of the council is looking at the water quality, or stormwater, fee hike. Earlier this week, the panel suggested that funding for the city's program should be cut by more than half.
Mr. Landguth said the airport's cost allocation analysis is partly related to the stormwater fee hike.
Ms. Cameron said the analysis, to be done by Charlotte, N.C.-based business consulting firm Newton & Associates for $59,500, will review all the airport's contracts, leases, terminal usage and staff time.
WHAT'S NEXT* Airport officials will examine potential credits for environmental work they've done at Lovell Field.* Newton & Associates will conduct an analysis of airport revenues and expenses to determine how Lovell Field is recovering its costs.
The airport has tried to cut expenses and capitalize on financial opportunities given the volatile airline industry and economy, Ms. Cameron said. It has restructured its parking management and rental car concession agreements and long-term debt, for example, she said.
But at this point, most other opportunities have disappeared and the airport continues to experience drastic fee increases, such as the stormwater levy, Ms. Cameron said.
"Now we've focused our attention on ways to cover these unexpected expenses," she said.