People often ask me about how the Port of Seattle is doing in these tough times. This past year, the port commission worked very closely with port CEO Yoshitani and port staff to eliminate programs that had outlived usefulness, to cut payroll (6%), to increase employee medical contributions and to scrutinize expenditures. As we approach year-end, those tough decisions are producing positive results. Our projected net income is over budget and we were able to cut taxes.
Here is a summary for how we are finishing this challenging year (thru November).
Airport passenger traffic is down only 3.5 percent, much less of a decline than many other airports
Marine cargo through November is down 9.7%. As a comparison, Tacoma is down 16.5%, L.A. is down 15.4% and Long Beach is down 24.5%.
The Port of Seattle’s total operating revenue for the first eleven months of 2009 was $432.5M or 3.1% under budget.
However, total operating expense was 14.3% under budget
Net Operating Income (NOI) before Depreciation was $215.2M, or 11.6% over budget
In addition, starting in 2010, the seaport, like the airport, will cover its own capital costs from its own profits and will no longer rely on the property tax levy.
For 2010, the port commission reduced the property tax levy.
Bill Bryant is president of the King Co./Seattle Port Commission. He is also founder and chairman of BCI, an investor in Deneki Outdoors, and lives in Seattle with his wife Barbara.