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Drafting bill to change CVG airport board next step

Kenton County Judge/Executive-elect Kris Knochelmann says he will meet with Northern Kentucky lawmakers to draft a bill making the changes Kentucky Auditor Adam Edelen has recommended for the CVG Airport Board. Read the report here.

Knochelmann, who will take office in January, hopes the changes will be made quickly. He says he and others will go to Frankfort to lobby other legislators.

Edelen, who studied the problems of the Airport Board for months, says he doesn't care where Board members come from. "We need the best and the brightest minds to solve the airport's problem."

Here are his recommendations:

  • Restructure governance model to include 3 appointments by Kenton County Judge/Executive, 2 by Boone County, 1 from Campbell County, 2 from Kentucky Governor, 1 from Ohio Governor, 1 from Cincinnati Mayor and 1 from Hamilton County Commissioners
  • Acknowledge when report is final and don't put it in permanent draft/confidential status
  • Follow established purchasing policy
  • Discuss potential service needs with key CVG management before initiating a contract with an outside vendor
  • Document agreements in a formal written contract
  • Evaluate necessity and timing of services contracted
  • Develop process by which Board members may travel
  • Eliminate practice of inviting appointing authority to attend airport industry conferences
  • Finalize revisions to travel and expense policy
  • establish a reasonable per diem rate for travel
  • Ensure employment hiring policies are consistently followed
  • Update website to ensure hotline is more accessible to report various issues

Does this mean lower fares?
Edelen says he can't promise we go back to the glory days of the airport, but changes like he is recommending will help.

Ann Thompson has decades of journalism experience in the Greater Cincinnati market and brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her reporting.