After clash, parking changes at TIA

TAMPA - The parking rates are changing at Tampa International Airport.

But that development took a temporary backseat to some fireworks at Thursday's board meeting.

The Hillsborough County Aviation Board met earlier today and talked about the budget.

During the discussion of parking at TIA airport, board members Al Austin and Joseph Diaco began to criticize an article written by the St. Petersburg Times about how they are allowed to park for free while on trips.

"Shame on you," Diaco said to the reporter. "It's a very distorted, class-warfare type article."

But Mayor Pam Iorio objected to the conversation very quickly.

"We serve the public, and I'm very uncomfortable sitting on a board where we devote some time to being critical of newspaper articles. That's the check and balance in our system," she said.

(Click on the video player above to watch the entire exchange.)

The board eventually voted to still allow the first hour of parking free. But drivers who go even one minute over the hour will not only have to pay for the second hour, but for the first hour, too.

The changes go into effect October 1. The change is expected to generate more than $2 million in cash for the airport.