Airport Director Ricky Smith was supposed to take Hopkins to new heights, but he can’t get anything off the ground

But even when he wants to do what his bosses want him to, Smith finds himself a target. Last summer, with the city's murder rate blasting toward record levels, Mayor Jackson asked Smith to explore moving 45 police officers assigned to the airport onto city streets. Although offering a secure airport seems paramount to attracting business, Smith agreed to make it happen. That month, he announced a plan to replace the cops with a private security firm, allowing the Cleveland officers to be redeployed.

Smith went straight to city council with the proposal. And council, hungry to show the public they were committed to fortifying neighborhoods, approved the plan.

But in following the mayor's lead, Smith had stepped into a long-simmering battle between City Hall and Cleveland's police union.

"Ricky Smith is an absolute imbecile," Steve Loomis, president of the Cleveland Patrolmen's Union, says. "He's treating the airport as a business and is not concerned about the safety."

The union sued the city, arguing that airport security needs full arrest powers — a notion City Hall and Smith had apparently neglected to consider. A judge backed Loomis' claim and killed the city's plan. Months later, the city is still searching for a way to redeploy the airport officers.

"The ultimate plan in a few months is to have a dedicated airport police force," says Smith. "I think we can make this happen without compromising the safety and security of passengers."

Taxis, security — Smith's entire workload since arriving in Cleveland remains in limbo, waiting for approval from some arm of bureaucracy. And no wait is more ulcer-inducing than the case of the missing property taxes.

Back in 2006, Smith says, he ordered a thorough sweep of his new workplace. And what he discovered floored him: HMS Host, the company that runs the airport concessions, hadn't paid its property taxes for almost 20 years. But it wasn't the government that was owed. The city had footed $5.4 million in taxes on the company's behalf. It's now fighting to recoup the money — but it won't be easy. HMS's lawyers are going line by line over the charges, dedicated to making sure the company won't turn over a penny it doesn't have to. "I couldn't believe it," says Smith. "And I found this out about six months after I was into the job."

Last month, Smith finally devised a plan that just might stick. He jettisoned HMS for BAA, a company that operates airport concessions in Boston, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore. The new company will bring a mall-like feel to the airport in April. Smith predicts sales will double.

"BAA will help the airport move forward," Smith says — and, he hopes, will help prove what he's been saying since he arrived: "I don't have a hidden agenda. I just want to leave things better off than when I arrived."