Lansing - Ingham County residents’ burden of paying for the Capital City Airport may diminish some if the county board of commissioners has its way.

The board has begun talks with officials in Clinton and Eaton counties to discuss extending the tax paid by Ingham County residents to fund the airport to the two counties.

Board Chairman John Czarnecki said meetings are scheduled for the end of April with a goal of putting the issue up as a referendum sometime in 2003.

“We’re looking to have some discussions, get agreement,” he said. “If we have a vote in November, great, but that’s a pretty short time frame.”

The issue arose as an attempt to help the airport rise out of lingering Sept. 11 woes.

And many East Lansing residents, like Mike Forman, feel if money is to be used to help bail out the facility, it should come from all who use it.

“Let’s look at the geographic area of the airport and who it serves,” he said. “It’s an economic stimulus for the whole area.”

Like all airports, Capital City Airport experienced a drop in revenue after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The number of passengers decreased to 20 percent of the previous year’s numbers, executive director Tom Schmidt said.

But the airport has rebounded slowly and Schmidt said he expects to be back to normal passenger numbers in the next month.

While the airport’s goal is to become independent of tax support, Schmidt said the taxes do serve a purpose.

“Passengers mean revenue to us, so when we take a setback it has a direct effect on our revenue which has a direct effect on our need for resources from tax proceeds,” he said.

The tax money is normally used for improvements to the airport, but Schmidt said it could be used for advertising and marketing if the board of directors desires.

But it is more likely that the money will be used to help facilitate growth, Schmidt said.

The proposed tax would require passage of a referendum in each county, which may take a while.

Clinton County Commissioner Sara Clark Pierson said she has not heard any talk yet on the issue.

“It’s been 30 years since anybody has spoken to us about the airport,” she said.

But Pierson said the county hasn’t ruled out anything.

“Our county board of commissioners at this point are not taking any position in opposition to it,” she said. “Let’s just say eyebrows were raised.”

The airport straddles the border between Ingham and Clinton counties but Pierson said Clinton county is not obliged to pay for it.

The only connection issue between the county and the airport would be one of use, she said.

“It would be because of the regional interconnections of our industry and of our families,” Pierson said.

But some residents don’t connect use and payment.

Grand Ledge resident Mary Hogan said she uses the facility but feels no obligation to pay.

“Not if I don’t live in the county,” she said.