- December 25, 2024
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The Halifax Area Advertising Authority has allocated an additional quarter of a million dollars to help market the Daytona Beach International Airport, as the program will be shifting to a reimbursement model.
The Volusia County Council unanimously approved the budgets for the Halifax Area Advertising Authority, Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority and the West Volusia Advertising Authority, an agenda item that was tabled on Aug. 20 when the council directed the authorities to commit more dollars toward promoting the airport and its carriers.
The Halifax Area Advertising Authority originally planned to set aside $150,000 of its $20.2 million budget for promoting the airport — the increase by $250,000 brings the total to $400,000 for airport marketing, a 166% increase. The Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority is now budgeting $100,000, up from the previously proposed $50,000. The West Volusia Advertising is budgeting $20,000, up from $7,500.
County Councilman David Santiago pushed the authorities to increase their budgets for airport marketing, saying that it's a result of the airport's recent successes overseen by Cyrus Callum, county director of aviation and economic resources.
"He hit a home run and he's been able to deliver to this airport what no one has been able to do in the past, as far as the routes that we've been able to attain," Santiago said. "... It was never from an adversarial approach or whatever comments were made otherwise."
The county will move to a reimbursement model for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, similar to that for the Ocean Center. County Manager George Recktenwald said Callum would first reach a marketing agreement with the airlines, and the funds would likely come from the county's Economic Development fund. The authorities will then reimburse the county on a quarterly basis.
Some confusion arose at the meeting between Santiago and Daytona Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Lori Campbell Baker, who initially believed Santiago was moving the authorities to change how their budgets worked regarding airport funding for future years, and that hadn't been discussed by the boards.
"We, in good faith, came back with what we thought you needed us to do for this fiscal year," Baker said.
Santiago said there seemed to be resentment among some of the authorities' board members during their recent special meeting to discuss the budget amendments.
"I left with the impression that, 'How dare us tell them how to spend their money?'" Santiago said. "And I think a forgetting, if that makes sense, that that board, all of these boards, serve at our pleasure, because we each appoint folks in there to do these jobs."
Baker told Santiago that the groups are advertising authorities, not advisory committees. The council, she said, has done a "stellar job" in appointing the 11-member Halifax Area Advertising Authority, all of whom are heavily involved in the budget process.
"They use those dollars and approve those dollars as if they were their very own," Baker said. "So, there's accountability like you wouldn't believe, and so that's where I'm trying to get ... and you heard them, they're very passionate."
"Some might say a little too passionate in some of their commentary," Santiago replied from the dais.
"I would argue that's the kind of passion that you want protecting bed tax dollars," Baker said.
Santiago said the board made direct attacks to the council members, saying their direction to put more dollars behind the airport's promotion was a "political tactic."
Baker said the members were coming a place where they had worked on the budget and set aside $150,000 for promoting the airport — only $50,000 was used last year, to promote Avelo Airlines. If the county needed more funds, the board would allocate more funds.
In response, Santiago said he didn't have anything against the members.
"I don't want to make it personal, but I couldn't even point out any of your members on a lineup," Santiago said.
His motive, he said, is economic success, because the "east side is the economic engine of Volusia County."
Callum said the reimbursement model would work, and that he and the three advertising authorities have been working to find a solution for all parties involved.
"We're all going to be working together as we get these requests from the airlines, so I envision nothing different than what we've been able to discuss up to this point," Callum said.
For the county to show that there are more funds to support air service sends a message to carriers that county leadership wants them to be successful at the Daytona Beach International Airport, Santiago said.
"I think they (the authorities) can live with it for a year and then we reevaluate next year," Santiago said.
Councilman Troy Kent praised Santiago for taking leadership on the authorities' budget. Some questioning, he said, is healthy.
"I believe your actions alone are going to be a huge benefit for our airport to continue to be successful and our community to be successful," he said.
