DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) – The Dubuque City Council on Monday night passed a motion to continue talks about how to fund a minimum revenue guarantee at the city’s airport.
Dubuque has agreed to guarantee Denver Air Connection a certain amount of revenue per flight. If they fall short the city has to pick up the slack.
City Manager Mike Van Milligen suggests using the 2025 fiscal budget to help offset the cost.
Mayor Brad Cavanagh says he’s heard many questions from Dubuque residents and says city is trying to work out solutions.
“We have tried every single thing we can think of as a community, Cavanagh said. ”We’ve thought about starting our own airline. We’ve thought about the University of Dubuque having pilots that could feed the airlines that would the be able to give us some sort of a benefit. We’ve learned each time that’s just simply not how things work.“
Dubuque could use an estimated $1.6 million to offset the cost to Denver Air Connection, but that money would only last through December.
The Dubuque City Council will continue the discussion at its meeting on October 6.
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