Fort Madison, IA – Fort Madison residents will decide, November 3, who should oversee the city's airport.
A special question on the ballot will read
Shall the City of Fort Madison continue the management and control of its airport in an airport commission?
A yes vote means the commission would continue to operate as it presently does.
A no vote means city staff (most likely City Manager Byron Smith) would oversee the operations and the finances of the Fort Madison Municipal Airport.
Smith reports to the Fort Madison City Council. That panel called for the ballot referendum after raising concerns about how the commission was managing the airport and how it was communicating with the city.
The city council already forced the head of the commission to step down. The Fort Madison Airport Commission was created by a vote of the people so it can only be abolished in that same manner.