Cincinnati-area airport board racked up $102K food, alcohol bill on steak, top-shelf liquor

12/8/2013

CINCINNATI — A newspaper analysis has found that the governing board of an airport serving Ohio and Kentucky spent more than $102,000 over five years on food and alcohol served after meetings, an average of $1,750 a month in taxpayer dollars.

The Cincinnati Enquirer report published Sunday comes amid questions over the structure of the Kenton County Airport Board, which oversees the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Regional Airport.

Airport documents obtained by the newspaper showed the after-meeting spreads included carved strip steaks, crown roast of pork and Chilean sea bass, as well as top-shelf bourbon, scotch and vodka.

The newspaper could not identify any other public agency board in the area that routinely serves alcohol.

Airport board chairman Jim Huff pledged through a spokesman to end the post-meeting appetizers as soon as possible.