The Naples Airport Authority today agreed to sign off on a letter asking some of the highest-ranking aviation officials in the country whether the city legally could increase the authority’s rent payment.
The authority agreed to joint support of a letter with the exact wording of that approved by the Naples City Council on Wednesday.
The city’s and authority’s lawyers have given different opinions whether it would be legal for the city to charge the authority more than $1 a year for use of 700 acres of city land to operate the Naples Municipal Airport.
Several City Council members wanted to get a definitive answer to the question from the Federal Aviation Administration, which has the power to withhold federal grants if the agency feels a law is being violated.
The joint letter is being sent to the FAA’s chief legal counsel and associate administrator. Some residents have argued that increasing the lease payment could help city coffers at a time when the city may be contemplating property tax increases.
The city’s attorney, Robert Pritt, believes the city could charge the authority fair market rent.
But the authority’s lawyer, Joseph McMackin, has said the FAA likely would declare a rent hike to be case of illegal revenue diversion.
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