Wayne County has had severe budget problems for many years. In spite of repeated efforts by the state legislature to find new revenue for the county's coffers and relieve the county of certain major expenses, the county has had great difficulty in securing adequate revenue to perform needed services.
Unfortunately, the people of Wayne County are deprived of many services available to the people of other counties. This document is not intended to criticize the present county government. However, because the current leaders of the county have an obligation to the people of Wayne County, these elected officials should consider the proceeds that would be generated from the sale of the airport. In late 1987, the county did investigate the sale of certain assets to generate revenue to balance its budget. The complex issues involved in a sale of Metro Airport (discussed in the next chapter) dissuaded county officials from devoting the time or energy to the process at that time. [32]
It is clear that if the airport were sold, it could generate a enormous amount of cash for the county even after paying off airport debt. County leaders might then be able to provide all of the services they believe the people of the county want. The huge amount of cash might be set aside as a public trust for long term projects the county may need.
If privatized, Metro airport would not need all of the civil service employees assigned to the airport although the new owner may wish to retain certain airport personnel for their expertise. But these personnel could be used to provide other county services and paid from the proceeds of the sale. Thus, a sale would not necessarily result in net layoffs of public employees.