In a public meeting last week, the Port of Centralia approved its budget for 2023 in a 2-0 vote, with Port Commissioner Peter Lahmann abstaining.
When asked why he chose to abstain, Lahmann replied, “I don’t know what’s in it.”
During the meeting, which included a public hearing for the budget, Lahmann stated he didn’t have enough time to review it.
“It’s difficult for me to reconcile this when I get it 24 hours and 30 minutes before the meeting to go through. I’m trying to be a good steward of our funds,” Lahmann said.
Port Executive Director Kyle Heaton explained some of the details of the budget during the meeting, including how inflation has been impacting the port.
“Moving through expenses, you’ll notice across the board we, like everyone else, have been dealing with inflation and looking at what we’ve spent this year and what things are looking (like), we applied a 10% CPI (consumer price index) increase on expenses outside of salaries and benefits across the board,” Heaton said.
He added the port wasn’t obligated to spend that entire amount budgeted.
As for the numbers in the budget itself, beginning revenues for 2023 are expected to be $200,383. Once grants, non-operating and operating revenues are taken in as well, total revenues for the port are $20,668,129.
Of that number, $8,115,300 came from Washington State Department of Transportation grants, operating revenues accounted for $895,310, and non-operating revenues, which included asset sales and taxes, totaled $11,457,136.
When it came to expenditures, Heaton explained what projects would cost the port the most.
“The balance of it, capital expenditures, obviously Centralia Station will take the bulk next year and we will continue on the miscellaneous land improvements,” Heaton said.
Total expenses, including capital expenditures, came in at $15,286,904. This left the port with an end fund balance of $5,381,225.
Commissioner Julie Shaffley asked about some of the outside service expenditures, namely $45,000 being spent on port marketing and $50,000 on community relations.
“Marketing port is direct marketing of port properties. We also (hire) professional commissions, brokers, that type of thing falls in there. When it comes to community relations, those are more things like, say the chamber (of commerce) contract would fall under that, the EDC’s (Economic Development Council) membership would fall under that. Various times we’ve been asked to sponsor job fairs, that type of thing,” Heaton said. “As the commissioners make those decisions, that’s the fund that it’s pulled from. Again, you’re under no obligation to spend it, but it’s there.”
That wasn’t the only expenditure Shaffley had a question about.
“Then I saw under the legal, outside services, I saw there is $40,000 for public records requests, I didn’t see that on last year’s budget,” Shaffley said.
Heaton said over the past year the port had processed over 3,500 pages of records requests, which cost the port more than $17,000 in staff time and an additional $17,000 in legal fees.
“To which we’ve received copies and fees back of about $176, so we’ll be continuing, as long as that continues to go on, we’ll continue to make budget adjustments so nothing within that impairs the port's mission moving forward,” Heaton said.
Lahmann asked questions related to the differences this budget had to the preliminary budget presented last month.
“That’s what I’m trying to do is figure out, what the different suggested amount was, and that concludes my questions on that. I do appreciate, director, that we had a little bit of breakdown in this,” said Lahmann. “I’m not so worried about the operating budget. What I’m interested in is what we’re spending it on. It’s like the promotion (marketing) that Commissioner Shaffley just spoke about.”
During the public hearing portion, several citizens commented on the budget, including Centralia resident Jan Banevich.
“This is nice that you put out a little bit more details for the budget for the public, but it would’ve been nice to have this prior to the hearing so the public would know what to make testimony about,” Banevich said.
The budget wasn’t detailed enough for Centralia resident Paul Crowner, who last year unsuccessfully sought election to the port commission.
“The questions I have about the budget is how much money and where it goes for advertising, who determines where and how much. I assume the money must be part of marketing and advertising but there’s no detail given other than just the lump sum,” Crowner said.
He went on to bring up an example of a local business owner — Paul Beattie — who advertises for the port and who Crowner claimed disparaged himself and Lahmann in a Facebook post.
“Why is the port spending money on a private business that openly supports the beliefs of the owner and founder that borders almost on slander and libel on one of the commissioners of the port?” Crowner said. “I understand that Mr. Beattie has a right to his opinion but it seems to me the port should distance itself from a business that denigrates and disparages one of the commissioners and the staff of the port as well.”
As for the $40,000 being allotted to public records requests, Centralia resident Brian Dow shared his thoughts on that expense.
“That $40,000, I just kind of want to add that it probably wouldn’t be anywhere near $40,000 if questions were answered more clearly, better stated on paper, possibly getting the budget, like Jan just mentioned, ahead of time. My perception is we don’t really get things answered that we would like to,” said Dow. “So, I don’t know who likes doing public records requests. I sure don’t. I’d rather not. I’d rather have a question if it’s within the realm of reason be answered, then we wouldn’t have to go through all that.”
