04-06-2025
Northwest Arkansas National Airport files lawsuit against City of Highfill
BENTON COUNTY, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport heard from a Highfill City Council member at its board meeting Tuesday, during an ongoing litigation between the two entities.
In 2023, XNA was reported to be considering separating from the City of Highfill.
The airport had originally stated in March 2023 that it would not separate unless the change made sense for both the customer experience and the region.
Around the same time, Arkansas enacted Act 769 into legislation, which allows airport authorities to make decisions regarding attachment to the city it resides, as long as it's in the best interest of the authority and city.
However, if the city has unpaid bonds, the sales tax remains collected and used towards those payments.
In October 2023, the City of Highfill filed a lawsuit against XNA, claiming the 2023 law is unconstitutional.
A Benton County judge denied the city's attempts at a de-annexation lawsuit in September 2024, ruling in favor of the airport.
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In October 2024, XNA filed a petition to detach from the City of Highfill under Act 769.
According to state law, once a petition is filed, all the sales tax revenue that goes to the municipality must be used to pay off or prepay bonds.
In November, XNA's original proposal was rejected by the city, with changes made when it was proposed again in March 2025.
Separately, XNA claims that since the petition was filed, the city has used the sales tax revenue for operational needs, leading to an ongoing lawsuit filed in April against city officials.
'While we have filed a lawsuit against the mayor and the city administrative assistant and one other city council member, we're doing that in their official capacity. We're not seeking any money damages from them. We're seeking a court order directing them to follow the law,' Brian Burke, director of compliance for XNA, said.
With state lawmakers present, the two parties came to an agreement, but after the board of directors meeting Tuesday morning, it appeared that the two had misinterpreted the verbal agreement.
Highfill City Council member Justin Allen said that the city believed they would be receiving $900,000 for municipal needs that did not have to go to bond payments, while Burke claimed that the money's sole purpose was to go towards the debt.
Due to the misinterpretation, the board decided to scrap the agreement and start from scratch.
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