Dekalb County Airport Authority

Dekalb County Airport Authority, a county airport authority based in Auburn, Indiana, receives federal grants from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to fund airport infrastructure modernization and maintenance at Auburn Municipal Airport, acting as a recipient under the Airport Improvement Program (CFDA 20.106) and Airport Infrastructure Grants program (CFDA 20.117). The authority does not hold federal contracts; all twenty awards in its federal footprint are federal grants administered through the FAA's Great Lakes Region.

The authority's grant portfolio centers on runway extension, reconstruction, and safety infrastructure at Auburn Municipal Airport. The largest recent award is a $3.8 million project grant from the FAA awarded September 6, 2024 (with ultimate completion September 5, 2028) to extend Runway 9/27 by 2,105 feet to meet current standards and reconstruct taxiway A lighting. A $906,462 project grant awarded March 3, 2026 (completion March 2, 2030) funds construction of three 9,437-square-foot sponsor-owned hangars for aircraft storage and revenue generation. A $197,289 project grant awarded August 6, 2025 (completion September 14, 2029) provides Phase 1 preliminary engineering for reconstruction of 5,000 feet of Runway 9/27, with future-year funding planned subject to appropriations. The authority also received a $324,290 award on August 27, 2024 to reconstruct an airport rotating beacon and replace an automated weather observing system (AWOS III). Earlier phases of the runway extension project trace back to 2021–2022, funded through American Rescue Plan Act supplemental appropriations that increased the federal share to 100 percent.

Customer concentration is absolute: 100% of awards flow from the FAA Great Lakes Region through the Department of Transportation, with sixteen awards designated to the FAA Great Lakes Region directly and four to the FAA nationally. Total dollars obligated across all awards amount to $28 million. Activity has been episodic rather than sustained — three awards in 2022, one in 2023, two in 2024, one in 2025, and one in 2026 — reflecting the multi-year, phased nature of airport infrastructure projects. Two awards reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months: the American Rescue Plan Act grant for runway extension phases (due January 26, 2026) and a COVID-19 economic relief grant (due August 1, 2025), representing completion of earlier project tranches rather than recompete exposure in the traditional sense, as Auburn Municipal Airport's ongoing infrastructure needs continue to draw FAA AIP funding in subsequent grant cycles.