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Reservations about giving raises to airport employees briefly hung up budget discussions Monday at a Lee County Port Authority meeting.

However, mild opposition to the proposed merit-based salary increases wasn’t enough to derail preliminary approval of the $110 million operating budget for fiscal 2008-09.

Lee County commissioners, who double as Port Authority commissioners, approved the budget 4-1, following the recommendation set by the Airports Special Management Committee last week. Commissioner Frank Mann cast the dissenting vote.

The budget still must be presented to the public in a September hearing, but Monday’s approval allows Southwest Florida International Airport to put airlines on notice of next year’s fees, which will be increased. It also gives officials the ability to put into place a system of merit-based raises from 0 to 4 percent, which officials said would average 2.7 percent across the airport’s personnel.

“We’ve told the county to hold the line on salary increases,” Mann said. “All state employees are going on their third year with no increase, and I’m struggling to justify a 2.7 percent increase. Call it a merit increase, call it what you want, but it’s an increase.”

The other commissioners were critical of the increases, but, like Mann, said they were otherwise happy with the budget.

Airports Special Management Committee member Dan Baggot said he understood the concerns, but approved the budget based on the need to run the airport like a business.

“Our job on this side of the table is what’s best for the port authority. Your job on your side of the table is what’s best for the county,” he said to Lee commissioners. “This airport is not funded by taxpayer dollars. You want the best airport you can have — how are you going to get that if you don’t give the best people raises?”

Personnel expenses make up $27 million of the year’s expenses in the proposed budget, a 7 percent increase over the current year’s staffing costs.

The increased landing fees and terminal rental costs also were approved, equating to a cost of $8.06 per departing passenger, a slight increase over current costs, which hover below $8. Officials argued that those costs remain low within the spectrum of $5 to $18 being charged per customer by other Florida airports.