This was not the case a few weeks ago when commissioners appointed development lawyer Henry Isaacson with all the openness you would expect in a fraternity initiation. If the U.S. system means anything, it is that there can be no governmental enterprise without some mechanism of public control. The Airport Authority, with its penchant for operating behind closed doors, likes to pretend that it is a private corporation. But it is not. It has no powers except those lent to it by the people.
Some confusion stems from airports' heavy reliance on federal funds.
Activities carried out at one level of government with money raised at another are hard to control. Over the years, the Airport Authority has generally avoided controversy and so the nature of its powers is not often examined. But the authority's decision to invite Federal Express to build a large hub operation here had broad public ramifications. The public is rightly demanding a say. County residents insist that the commissioners protect their interests.