Port operations income will outpace tax revenue

Operations are expected to generate more revenue for the Port of Whitman than the agency’s property tax levy next year.

The agency’s 2012 budget proposal shows income of $1,177,000 from its industrial parks and fiber optic network, while the 37 cent levy is projected to bring in $1,081,000.

That brings up the question Commissioner John Love said he hears the most from constituents.

“When is the port not going to have any tax dollars?” Love told his fellow commissioners during a discussion of the 2012 budget last Thursday.

Not likely ever, he said.

Love noted the agency will receive more income from its $14 million federally-funded fiber optic network, but said restrictions on the income require it be reinvested in future expansion of the county’s telecommunications infrastructure.

Construction crews just recently quit for the winter laying conduit for the high-speed broadband cable that will stretch from Spokane to Clarkston and will connect nine towns in Whitman County.

The stimulus-funded fiber optic expansion skews 2012 projections upward. The port is expected to spend $7,691,000 on the 170-mile broadband project next year.

Grant funds will account for $6.5 million of that total, with the port covering the rest through its revenue.

Last year’s $13,736,000 budget was also inflated by the stimulus project. The 2010 bottom line was $2,960,600.

Port Accountant Terri Heilsberg presented the 2012 budget to commissioners at their regular meeting last Thursday.

A public hearing for the port’s budget will be during the commission’s regular meeting next Thursday, Nov. 17.

Telecommunications are a big part of the port’s revenue, as leases on the port’s operating fiber network are expected to generate $266,900.

That makes the telecommunications network the port’s second most profitable budget item.

Facilities at the Port of Wilma are expected to generate a $450,000 income next year, as leases will generate $520,000 against the port’s $70,000 expenses.

Boyer Park remains the port’s biggest money loser, as operations are slated to exceed revenue by $62,700. The port receives $5,000 in annual lease revenue from park operator Dave Peterson.

Administrative expenses account for $643,000, with salaries for port staff accounting for $101,300.

Commissioner compensation is expected to increase from this year’s $32,000 to $37,150.

Fees for port attorney Bruce Ensley are budgeted at $45,000—the same amount as in the 2011 budget.

Work to develop utilities at the port’s new industrial park at the corner of SR 27 and the Albion Road in Pullman is slated to cost the port $1,580,000.

Another $671,000 is slated to be set aside to pay off a state loan that was used to build the ISR building in Pullman. Repayment on the loan is not due until 2026, but early payment would hold down interest fees.