General Powers

  1. Law
  2. Tennessee Code
  3. Aeronautics
  4. Metropolitan Airport Authorities
  5. General Powers

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An authority has all powers necessary to accomplish the purposes of this chapter (excluding the power to levy and collect taxes and special assessments) including, but not limited to, the power to:

  1. Have perpetual succession, sue and be sued, and adopt a corporate seal;
  2. Plan, establish, acquire, construct, improve and operate one (1) or more airports within or without the creating municipality and within this state and within any adjoining state;
  3. Acquire real or personal property or any interest in real or personal property by gift, lease, or purchase, for any of the purposes provided by this chapter, including the elimination, prevention or marking of airport hazards, and sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of any such property; and acquire real property or any interest in real property in areas most affected by aircraft noise for the purpose of resale or lease, subject to restrictions limiting its use to industrial or other purposes least affected by aircraft noise;
  4. Enter into agreements with the creating municipality and with participating municipalities, acquire by lease, gift, purchase, or otherwise, any airport of a creating or participating municipality and operate the airport as a part of its metropolitan airport;
  5. Enter into agreements with the creating municipality and participating municipalities with respect to the manner of transfer of airport employees of the municipalities to the authority, and with respect to the retention by such employees of existing civil service status and accrued pension, disability, hospitalization and death benefits;
  6. Enter into, by contract with the creating municipality or otherwise, a plan of civil service for employees of the authority;
  7. Enter into, by contract with the creating municipality or otherwise, a plan for pension, disability, hospitalization and death benefits for the officers and employees of the authority;
  8. Make application directly to the proper federal, state, county and municipal officials and agencies, or to any other source, public or private, for loans, grants, guarantees or other financial assistance in aid of airports operated by it, and to accept the loans, grants, guarantees or other financial assistance;
  9. Make studies and recommend to the appropriate legislative body of the creating and participating municipalities or other municipality or county in which an airport is situated, zoning changes in the area of any airport operated by the authority with respect to noise, height and aviation obstructions;
  10. Have control of its airport with the right and duty to establish and charge fees, rentals, rates and other charges, and collect revenues therefrom, not inconsistent with the rights of the holders of its bonds, and to enter into agreements with carriers for the payment of landing fees, rental rates and other charges;
  11. Appoint a president, and confirm or reject the president's appointments of a secretary, a treasurer, an auditor, legal counsel and a chief engineer; prescribe their duties and qualifications; and fix their compensation;
  12. Use in the performance of its functions the officers, agents, employees, services, facilities, records and equipment of the creating municipality or any participating municipality, with the consent of any such municipality, and subject to such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon;
  13. Enter upon such lands, waters or premises as in the judgment of the authority may be necessary for the purpose of making surveys, soundings, borings and examinations to accomplish any purpose authorized by this chapter, the authority to be liable for actual damage done;
  14. Provide its own fire protection, police and crash and rescue service;
  15. Contract with carriers with regard to the landing, accommodation and servicing of aircraft; the loading and unloading of cargo, passengers and baggage; and the accommodation of the employees and passengers of the carriers;
  16. Contract with persons or corporations to provide goods and services for the use of the employees and passengers of the carriers and the employees of the authority, and necessary and incidental to the operation of the airport;
  17. Designate an independent certified public accounting firm to do an annual post audit of all books, accounts and records of the authority and issue a public report on the books, accounts and records;
  18. Lend the proceeds of bonds issued pursuant to this chapter and enter into loan agreements or other agreements with persons or corporations with respect to the loans and the construction, reconstruction, improvement, or acquisition of one (1) or more projects at its airports, upon such terms and conditions as the authority may deem advisable; provided, that this subdivision (18) only applies in any county having a population of not less than seven hundred seventy thousand (770,000) nor more than seven hundred eighty thousand (780,000), according to the 1980 federal census or any subsequent federal census; and
    1. Incorporate, operate in all respects, and exercise all the powers granted to industrial development corporations under title 7, chapter 53; provided, that the creating municipality, and participating municipality if the airport is located in or owned by a participating municipality, grants such power to the airport authority by resolution. Any projects developed under this subdivision (19)(A) shall be developed as the property of the authority and the authority shall make in lieu of tax payments on any such developments to the county and/or municipality in which it is domiciled. An authority, before issuing any industrial development bonds pursuant to this chapter, shall consider whether any proposed industrial operation is compatible with aviation purposes.
    2. Subdivision (19)(A) does not apply:
      1. To counties having a metropolitan form of government;
      2. In any county having a population of not less than seven hundred seventy thousand (770,000) nor more than seven hundred eighty thousand (780,000), according to the 1980 federal census or any subsequent federal census;
      3. To any county having a population of not less than one hundred thousand (100,000) nor more than two hundred thousand (200,000), according to the 1980 federal census or any subsequent federal census; or
      4. To counties with a population between two hundred eighty thousand (280,000) to two hundred ninety thousand (290,000).


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