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i .._.... I-41Z sance factors like airplane noise or perceived safety risks. Economic impact —jobs, sales, taxes —is often the only defense for an airport being surrounded by houses or coveted by real estate barons. Unfortunately, those impacts usually haven't been calculated or communi- cated to city or county officials and the media. This. comes home to roost when officials hard - pressed to pay for anew watertreatment plant and harassed by anti -noise activists sit downand look at the "high cost" of operating an airport. You and your airport support group must challenge citizens who are concerned about local economic stability and growth, or who care about the tax base that pays for schools, roads and hospitals, to care about their local airport. If you demand the facts, you will discover that deregulation and a changing national economy have not diminished the value of general aviation airports but that they are needed now more than ever. By following the steps outlined in the next section, your group can prove to the community that airports are for people who don't fly. CALCULATING ECONOMIC IMPACT The centerpiece of the Airport Packet is a modular approach to calculating the direct, indirect and induced economic impacts of an airport. "What's Your Airport Worth ?" is a booklet that provides the information and instructions an airport group needs to perform an easy, simplified, cost- benefit analysis that quantifies-the airport's economic contribution _to the region. The. booklet offers a layman's method for accomplishing-a credible study and adds modules of increasingly sophisticated infor- mation that comprise the building blocks for expanding the study. This building -block approach allows the airport group, using available expertise and resources, to decide how detailed an economic study it wishes to perform. . Any airport group can quickly perform a preliminary economic impact study of its public -airport to prove that the facility attracts outside dollars and contributes economic benefits, like jobs, services and taxes. Those numbers are an effective lobbying and public relations tool in defending or promoting the airfield. That kind of information also makes an excellent news item for distribution to the local media. As a demonstration of its simplicity, an example of this basic method conduct- ing a preliminary study follows. The preliminary study can also provide the impetus for an appropriate agency to conduct or fund an in -depth follow -up cost/benefit. analysis. Using this basic method as a starting point sets the stage for a professional, detailed and unassailable audit ofMdi- tional transportation and aviation activity pdyoffs..• Groups can use preliminary results to chmpaign for more intense (and costly) studies by experts using more sophisticated formulas. These£ormulas can then be provided to consultants and universities, which often undertake these more advanced studies at the behest of pilot groups and local government agencies. THE BASIS OF ECONOMIC IMPACT The economic impact of an airport is a measure of the benefits it provides to the community. These benefits include the jobs, wages and expenditures that take place at the airport. They also include the effects of these expenditures in moving from hand to hand through the community, enhancing economic activity far from the airport itself. Economic benefits also include expenditures made by those transient passengers who use the airport but spend their money at other locations. Savings in time and money that the existence of the airport permits represent another economic benefit that resides with the community. Finally, economic benefits also include the intangible effect the airport has on business deci- sions to locate or remain in a specific area. Business location decisions based on airport availability are tangible and harder to identify and quantify. Unfortu- nately, these last benefits and the social values are difficult to measure. Economic impact as a whole comprises direct, indirect and induced impacts. Direct impact is as- sociated with providers of services at the airport. These providers include the airport operator (public or private), fixed -base ope ators, air carriers, freight haulers, concessionaires, government installations, educational institutions, military facilities, flight schools and maintenance operations, among others. The value of direct impact is the sum of all payroll, capital expenditures, operating and maintenance costs, taxes and fees incurred by every provider of services. With some research, a total dollar -value figure can be obtained for almost any facility through the one -page economic survey found at the end of this section. Indirect impact is associated with the users of airport services. These include both corporate and public users, government agencies and aviation and 3 -2