Controversy is swirling around the Jefferson County Airpark after commissioners learned that fuel was being purchased by airpark board members and pilots at prices well below cost.

Commissioner Tom Graham says discounts are OK, in fact they are usually recommended by the FAA, but they should never cost the taxpayers money and that was the problem here.

Last week commissioners confronted the board members about the discrepancies in the budget. County Airport Authority President Mike Menzel says the prices were discounted as an enticement for people to base their planes at the airpark.

The problem was that the enticing price was below what the county was paying to get the fuel, and when they found out, the commissioners started asking questions.

"We [the commissioners] asked the prosecutor if this was legal," said Graham. "He said it was, but it is questionable if you want taxpayers subsidizing airplane fuel for board members and other pilots. We do not."

Menzel says when they found out, they acted quickly. "The price wasn't adjusted for the base pilots and when it was discovered, it was corrected," Menzel said. "We were always watching the bottom line, making a profit."

That doesn't mean the commissioners aren't watching.

"We just bought security cameras to monitor who is getting the jet fuel," Graham said. "What they are using it for so we can have a recorded record of selling that airplane fuel."

Menzel says he'll be watching too.

"We're going to have more oversight and a written policy so we can watch the price," Menzel said.

Menzel claims they missed the below-cost discount because it is such a small percentage of their sales. He says the correction still keeps the airpark's prices competitive with others throughout the valley.