December 3, 2015 

Mr. James T. Brown 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Airports Compliance Division (AC0-100} 

800 Independence Ave. 

Washington, DC 20591 

RE: Action Plan for Aviation Fuel Tax Revenue 

Dear Mr. Brown, 

In accordance with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) final amendment to its policy on Federal 

requirements for the use of proceeds from taxes on aviation fuel (78 FR 69789, November 21, 2013}, (79 

FR 5318, January 31, 2014). The following action plan will be adopted for the use of proceeds from taxes 

on aviation fuel collected at the Columbus (Georgia) Airport ("CSG"). 

The Columbus Airport Commission ("Commission") is a body corporate and politic created and existing by 

virtue of a 1968 amendment to the Constitution of the State of Georgia and is assigned as owner and 

operator of CSG. The Commission is a joint sponsor, along with Columbus, Georgia, ("CCG") the 

governmental entity formed by the consolidation of the City of Columbus and Muscogee County, Georgia, 

of CSG. Both will be responsible for enforcing this Policy. However, as the Commission has no taxiing 

authority, under the FAA's Aviation Fuel Tax Revenue Policy, the Commission will only be required to 

demonstrate good faith efforts to request that the aviation fuel taxes being collected be returned to the 

airport by the local taxing authority, CCG, which will ultimately be responsible as joint sponsor of the 

Columbus Airport for carrying out this action plan. 

In this case the CCG is tasked under the Constitutional Amendment cited above to provide the Commission 

$40,000 annually as a supplement to the Commission's budget. Initial estimates would indicate the 

supplement may exceed any local fuel taxes collected by CCG at the Airport. 

Initial Actions 

Beginning in October 2016, the Commission will receive the Georgia Department of Revenue (DOR) 

FY2016 year-end report documenting the local tax collections generated by aviation fuel sales. Should 

the reported amount exceed the $40,000 figure provided above, the Commission will send a letter to the 

CCG reminding it of the requirements of the policy and the potential ramifications/action for non-
beginning July 1st through June 30th. The Georgia Department of Transportation, Aviation Division 

("GDOT") has accepted responsibility for disseminating this report to the Commission. This report will 

provide the basis for a certification by the Commission that an amount equivalent to the aviation fuel 

taxes collected and reported by the DORin the preceding year has been invested in the airport. 

December 15th of Each Year 

The Commission will provide a certification to the FAA indicating the amount invested in the airport in the 

preceding year was equivalent to or exceeded the amount of revenue collected on local aviation fuel 

taxes. The certification will indicate whether there was funding provided to match the revenue report 

noted above or whether there was in-kind services provided that would equal the local aviation fuel tax 

revenue generated. In-kind services will be described in the certification with the amount so stated that 

equals or exceeds the taxes generated by aviation fuel sales. The certification will be accompanied by an 

annual audit conducted by the local Commission. 

If the funding amount invested in the airport is less than the amount reported by DOR for aviation fuel 

tax collections, the Commission will provide a corrective action plan to invest the deficient amount into 

the airport within the next 12 months. Accompanying the certification should be any letters sent to the 

taxing authorities that do not have a direct governmental affiliation to the Commission indicating the 

federal requirement to provide the tax revenue generated by aviation fuel sales. The letter will also 

contain the potential enforcement actions that could be taken by the federal government to include 

eligibility for future grants and civil fines per the FAA Revenue Use Policy. 

Implementation 

This process will begin on October 1, 2016 with the transmission of the first revenue report for the 

preceding fiscal year from GDOT. This will allow the Commission one year to make-budget adjustments 

and notifications to the taxing authorities indicating the requirements of the Revenue Use Policy. 

Beginning October 1, 2017, the certification requirement above will commence. 

Please feel free to contact me with any questions. 

s;r;:;./ 

Richard 

~~A~ 

C. Howell, A.A. E. 

Airport Director