Except for two airports’ purchases of cleaning and de-icing chemicals, Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport was the only facility in the state to use public funds for capital projects improperly in recent years, a new state audit found.
Of note was $3.5 million in state funds meant to pay for improvements to public facilities — along with $1 million of federal and local taxpayer monies — to pay off a $4.5 million debt of People Express Airlines, the audit found.
The Peninsula Airport Commission also used $1.3 million of state funds for a parking garage escalator in violation of state rules, the audit reported. Those rules bar the use of state funds for projects on which airports collect money, such as the parking garage.
