LONGVIEW — Port of Longview commissioners are considering a 2021 budget proposal that would fund $14.5 million on capital improvements but require a port tax to remain in place — at a 10 percent lower rate.
The proposed 2021 budget includes a $14.5 million capital budget fund, which would pay for road and rail projects, as well as regular maintenance at the port. Last year the port earmarked $12 million in its capital fund.
“Our capital projects have grown over the last five years due to need and demand,” said Jennifer Brown, the port’s chief financial officer. That includes rail line expansion projects underway, such as the North Rail Connection project and Industrial Rail Corridor Expansion.
A portion of the capital budget would be funded by money raised through the port’s property tax. Port staff have proposed setting the tax rate at 19 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.
That’s a 10 percent rate reduction compared to this year. It would cost the owner of a $300,000 home about $57 annually, or about $6 less than the current rate.
The tax would raise $2.07 million. About $550,000 would go to the capital budget, and the other $1.52 million would be used to make a payment on an outstanding bond.
Brown proposed a tax rate high enough to support the port’s needs while still fulfilling the commissioners’ desire to lower the tax burden on local residents.
The port’s tax plays an important role in funding capital projects because it raises extra revenue for the port to pay off debt or supplement the capital budget, Brown said. Bonding organizations also consider a port’s taxing authority when deciding interest rates and how much to lend.
If the port eliminated its tax altogether, “the port might not be able to do those projects. It would have growth that’s just status quo,” Brown said. At the very least, it would extend the timeline for projects at the port and delay growth.
Capital projects are “critical” for the port to stay competitive in the region, to attract new tenants and to meet the needs of existing tenants, Brown said. New infrastructure also supports growth at the port, which in turn brings in more money for the community.
For example, the rail line expansions will supports a higher volume of trains and in turn increase the port’s revenue through increased productivity and exports. And when the port makes more, it pays more back to the community in the form of taxes and jobs.
She pointed to the port’s original Industrial Rail Corridor project, which was completed in 2005 and added more than 3 miles of rail line and connected both major rail companies directly to the port. That project attracted Export Grain Terminal to the port in 2012, after which point the port’s revenues shot up significantly.
