Read the editorial: Forum editorial: Fargo should not solve its budget challenges by diverting airport funds – InForum | Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo news, weather and sports

A $200 million construction project could be grounded if Fargo leaders pull local funding.

Imagine this scenario:

Papa gives son Peter a regular allowance for services he performs. Peter saves most of his allowance and every now and again buys something he can afford, but continues to save for his future.

Papa also gives son Paul a regular allowance for services he performs. Paul has a habit of overspending. Then, because Paul soon can’t pay for everything he wants, he asks Peter to share his savings, arguing he clearly needs the money more than Peter.

Is it fair for Peter to pay Paul?

Absolutely not.

And yet this scenario is playing out right now between some Fargo city leaders and members of the Fargo Airport Authority, which governs Hector International Airport.

Papa is the taxpayers, Peter is the airport, and Paul is Fargo city government.

The Fargo Airport Authority has been socking away for years tax revenue from a two-mill levy authorized annually by the Fargo City Commission. The airport’s reserve fund is now sitting at $58 million.

Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney, who proposes the city’s budget, has his eye on this two-mill levy and is suggesting city commissioners could divert that money away from the airport in 2025 and perhaps beyond, taking the $1.6 million it generates annually to provide larger raises to city employees .

Mahoney argues city taxpayers have put $20 million into the airport’s reserve fund over the past 10-15 years and that most airport improvements are paid for with funds from state and federal taxpayers.

Airport Authority members don’t dispute most of that but say the city has to show a financial commitment to the airport in order for the airport to tap into most state and federal tax funds. State law allows airports to receive up to four mills from cities, and Fargo funds its airport at half that.

What makes this dispute so compelling right now is the airport is currently undergoing one of its most dramatic transformations with construction of a $156 million terminal expansion and $47 million parking ramp. Most of those projects are paid for with state and federal funds, but Airport Authority Chairman Jim Kapitan warned that if the city pulled away its annual tax support, “we will have no option but to stop construction.”

Mayor Mahoney’s suggestion to divert the tax is also perplexing because he was one of the greatest advocates for a parking ramp at the airport, a move fully endorsed by The Forum and many business leaders despite years of strong resistance from longtime airport Executive Director Shawn Dobberstein.

Our winters are harsh and requiring people to park in giant, uncovered surface lots hundreds of yards from the terminal left many with a bad impression of Fargo’s otherwise progressive and creative culture.

Airport Authority member Rick Berg said it well when he called the airport Fargo’s “gateway to the rest of the world.”

More and more people are using North Dakota airports and Fargo’s airport has always led the way, serving as an essential connector for citizens near and far. It’s not the right time to cut back on its funding. If anything, Fargo’s airport should be working hard to attract more air carriers that offer more connectivity to more areas. Doing so may require more local funding commitments.

Fargo government has a spending problem. Our reporting has shown the city is spending more and more money in recent years, requiring it to raise taxes and fees and also draw from reserve funds. There is a solution for that, and it’s not diverting money from the airport, which has taken a more conservative approach to saving and spending.

It’s not right to rob Peter to pay Paul.