The Coweta

County Commission Tuesday afternoon finally explained why it took control

of the Airport Authority earlier this year.

The county's

takeover has been a big bone of contention at recent political forums

and in letters to local papers. Commissioner Jim McGuffey said he had

finally heard enough and wanted to set the record straight.

McGuffey explained

that a 1996 audit of the authority was returned to the county as a "qualified"

audit. A qualified audit can negatively affect bond rating, and the authority

received the rating because its accounting practices are inadequate, McGuffey

said.

"We attempted

to work out the problems, but they persisted," he said.

In addition

to the accounting problems, numerous troubling situations were occurring

at the airport, he said. Some of the problems were:

F Buildings

were not being built as hangars, but as storage facilities.

F Non-aviation

work was taking place at the airport.

F The buildings

that were being built were not complying with building codes.

The final straw

was when the authority could not pay a loan that was guaranteed by the

county, McGuffey said.

"We are

making a lot of changes because the liability stops with this commission,"

McGuffey said.

Commission

Chairman Vernon "Mutt" Hunter agreed with McGuffey, but wanted

to make one thing clear.

"We are

not accusing anybody on the authority of malfeasance," he said.

The other commissioners

agreed and said it is possible the Airport Authority could return in its

previous incarnation after the problems are solved.