PORT ANGELES — Commissioners Connie Beauvais and Steve Burke on Tuesday approved inclusion of the final pieces of the 2024 Port of Port Angeles budget, one week ahead of a final vote of the entire document at their Nov. 14 meeting.
Commissioner Colleen McAleer had an excused absence from the meeting.
The 2024 draft budget presented by Deputy Executive Director John Nutter was substantially the same as that commissioners reviewed at their Oct. 24 meeting. It included total operating revenue of $11.2 million, which was $500,000 more than the 2023 budget. Total operating expenses for 2024 were projected to be $9.6 million, which was $900,000 more than the 2023 budget.
“It represents the staff’s best estimates right now, and we’re working with our customers on the forecast for what the next year is going to bring,” Nutter said.
He and staff were continuing to look at how the port’s bottom line could be improved, Nutter said. Among the sectors they were focusing on was the log yard, where 2024 revenue was projected to be $1.1 million and expenses to be $1.3 million
“The current budget does not have them breaking even, but that doesn’t mean that staff is not actively looking for ways to make that happen,” Nutter said. “The question then becomes are we going to do it on the revenue side or are we going to do it on the expense side. So, while we have a deficit in the budget, that does not mean we accept that as the way it should be.”
Two grant-funded projects commissioners had prioritized — development of the Marine Trade Center site ($3.5 million) and modernization and repairs to the terminals 1 and 2 ($2 million) — were included in the draft budget as part the port’s capital improvement plan.
Also authorized on Tuesday for inclusion in the 2024 draft budget was a new levy rate of 0.11094 per $1,000 assessed value, up from 0.11270 per $1,000 assessed value in 2023 (a 3.8 percent increase). Roughly estimated, this could raise the port levy portion of a residential property valued at $300,000 from $33.81 per year in port taxes to $33.28 per year in port taxes.
The state Constitution limited to 1 percent the annual rate a junior taxing district like the port could assess, Executive Director Paul Jarkiewicz said, which was less than the rate at which property values rose.
“The amount that we’re actually levying is not keeping pace with the changes in [property] valuation,” Jarkiewicz said. “Our levy ratio will actually decrease as evaluations go up.”
The 2024 Comprehensive Scheme of Harbor Improvements, which included all port properties, was also approved for inclusion in the 2024 budget package.
The Nov. 14 meeting will be the last public hearing on the port’s 2024 budget. However, there are opportunities for residents to weigh in before that date.
“People can comment at any time to staff or commissioners,” Beauvais said. “You can put it in writing. You can make phone calls. We want to hear from the public.”
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
