Dear Source:
I commend Senator David Jones who took the initiative to introduce and pass legislation which appropriates $3 million to the V.I. Port Authority. This is in the form of a no-interest loan. The measure is a temporary stop-gap attempt which will hopefully persuade the Authority to roll back the 25% landing fee increase imposed on airlines serving the territory. The Board of the V.I. Port Authority should accept it and act to rescind the fee increase. However, I advocate that the central government should provide an annual appropriation of not less than $5 million to the Port Authority until such time as the Port can show a better operating revenue position. A one-shot loan cannot be the end-all to the problem. The Port will have to scrub its books to determine where more cuts can be made in the operating budget. If this not done, and future fees are imposed to support the operating budget, more airline flights could be cut which will certainly jeopardize the airport bond repayments or even cause a default. This should not be allowed to happen because a default will make it very difficult for the Port to go to the bond market in the future, and if it is does, the cost of borrowing money could be prohibitive.
Upon the loan legislation becoming law, the Port Authority's Board needs to meet in a special session to roll back the landing fee increase and following that action, the Governor and the Senate President along with the Executive Director of the Port Authority should call American Airlines and ask for a reconsideration of the cut back in operations which includes personnel actions.
Eric E. Dawson
Fairfax, Va.
Editor's note: Eric Dawson was formerly a V.I. Commissioner of the Economic Development and Agriculture Department.
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