- December 16, 2025
Commissioners Troy Kent and Bill Partington lobbied this week in Washington, D.C., to maintain funding for the airport's control tower.
BY MATT MENCARINI | STAFF WRITER
The sequestration cuts coming from the federal government could have an impact on Ormond Beach, and specifically the airport’s control tower.
Hoping to avoid reductions, which would include a portion of nearly $600 million in budget cuts to the Federal Aviation Administration, City Commissioners Troy Kent and Bill Partington went to Washington, D.C., this week to meet with members of Congress.
Additionally, City Manager Joyce Shanahan sent a letter, March 13, to the FAA, voicing concerns.
“(D)ue to the tremendous volume of student pilot training in and around the Ormond Beach airport, it would be unsafe to close our contract tower,” she wrote. “(I) request that the FAA reconsider defunding ofthe Ormond Beach Municipal Airport control tower and continue to ensure the safety of flight activity at one of the most high density flight operation facilities in the country.”
On Tuesday, the commissioners met with Sen. Bill Nelson, Rep. Ron DeSantis and staff from Sen. Marco Rubio’s office.
Both commissioners said they were encouraged by their discussions and felt the representatives lent support.
“Sen. Nelson looked me in the eyes and said we’re not preaching to the choir with him, we’re preaching to the preacher,” Kent said. “He’s 100% on board with us.”
According to the city, if the airport’s tower is closed, Ormond Beach would lose “significant safety benefits.”
The city has since stated that the airport tower reports less than 150,000 operations per year, and closing it could place an unsafe burden on other airports kept open. The Ormond Beach airport, which is currently open 12 hours each day, can provide control services for 525 to 550 operations per hour.
In addition to the safety concerns, the city said closing the airport’s tower would result in negative economic impacts, including reduced fuel sales, maintenance and support services.
Both Kent and Partington said DeSantis was initially unaware of the impact shutting down the airport could have on the city.
In a letter from Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, which the Ormond Beach commissioners emailed to DeSantis’ office at his request, Thune and Shuster expressed concern that safety procedures may have been compromised in the proposed cuts, without fully exploring other options.
DeSantis has since requested additional information about the Ormond Beach tower.
“Ultimately, will we be successful? I don’t know,” Partington said. “But we’ve voiced our concerns to the decision-makers. So when they make a decision, hopefully they make the right one.”
This is the second consecutive year Ormond Beach hasn’t contracted a federal lobbyist, for purposes like these. But Partington said there’s an advantage to sending the city’s elected officials.
“I could see the look in (DeSantis’) eye,” he said. “Our voters are his voters, and he sees why it’s important to help us if he can.”
