Blueprint Approves Air Service Incentive Plan

During the May 8th Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency (IA) budget workshop, elected officials approved a plan to fund an air service incentive proposal. The IA voted 10-2 to approve a plan via an expedited process that would cost $670,000 per year.

Leon County Commissioners Christian Caban and Bill Proctor voted against the item.

The approved motion, provided by Leon County Commissioner Nick Maddox, also included a Maddox amendment allocating $250,000 annually to an affordable housing incentive project.

The comingling of the air service incentive with Maddox’s affordable housing amendment frustrated some officials, including IA Chair, City Commissioner Dianne Wiliams-Cox.

However, the air service incentive proposal garnered widespread support among a Board that is normally split on spending proposals. During the debate, officials noted that the proposal was a “no brainer”, recognized that other communities were using the approach and that the use of incentives was supported by Democrats and Republicans.

The proposal comes after public criticism of high fares and the loss of JetBlue service at the Tallahassee airport.

The proposal includes new economic development funding request of $670,000 per year from the Incentives, Grants and Programs master project, for TLH air service development incentives and related air service capacity-related improvements. The cost of the program would be $3,350,000 over the five-year planning period and $10 million over the life of the Blueprint 2020 sales tax.

Typically, project funding requests are presented to the Blueprint IA Board as separate agenda items for consideration. However, due to the time-sensitive nature of this project, the Office of Economic Vitality requested that consideration of the funding proposal be included as part of the Proposed Fiscal Year 2026 Operating Budget and 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan. This approach enables the IA Board to consider a budget amendment for the current fiscal year.

A consultant hired by the Tallahassee projects the incentive program would enhance, expand and improve air service in Tallahassee. Also, an analysis indicates the return on investment (ROI) would be approximately $1.1 billion in economic impact, with a corresponding 1,158 jobs created.