Port of Woodland passes preliminary budget

LONGVIEW — The Port of Woodland on Thursday approved a draft budget with roughly a $10 million expenditure budget for 2022.

The port commission held a public hearing for the preliminary budget before approving it. There were no public comments. The final budget hearing will be held at 9 a.m. Nov. 18, and the commission then will vote on the final budget.

Port Executive Director Jennifer Wray-Keene said she was presenting a balanced budget.

“The port commission has requested that revenues through general operations support the expenditures of day-to-day operations. This is not to say prior budgets were not, but to recognize the new business plan we operate under today,” she said in an opening budget letter.

Overall, the port is growing, Wray-Keene said. The completion of the Centennial Industrial Park brought in five new companies, several properties at Schurman Way Industrial Park were sold, bringing in two new companies, and the first phase of the Rose Way Industrial Park is set to finish in December.

“It is anticipated several of these new companies will break ground in 2022, continuing the construction boom of 2021,” she wrote. “The port looks to the future in 2022 with the construction of buildings at Rose Way, bringing in new and expanding companies to the area and additional revenue to the port.”

Daily operations are estimated at $390,000 and $441,500 is estimated for salaries and benefits. As part of the daily operations, the port has budgeted just under $70,000 for maintenance, $20,000 for travel, $33,700 for public and recreation access areas, and just under $49,000 for insurance.

For salaries, the executive director is slated to make about $108,000 in 2022, the commissioners $18,000 on a per diem basis and the full-time maintenance staff about $42,700. There is a part-time maintenance staff position unfilled for $9,600 and an unfilled administrative assistant position for $19,200 in 2022. Wray-Keene said staffing efforts are underway, and the positions should be filled by the end of 2021.

Expenditures are budgeted to increase in 2022. The operations revenue is projected to be just under $870,000, mainly from lease payments, and expenditures just under $832,000, leaving a reserve of about $38,000.

The capital projects budget for 2022 has multiple big-ticket projects on it, including about $3.4 million for the port’s broadband fiber project and $5.2 million for Rose Way Industrial Park buildings. The total expenditures are budgeted at $9.2 million, while revenues are projected to be $7.7 million. The port anticipates getting matching grants and some state monies for several of the projects to cover the costs.

The commission Thursday also approved an emergency payment of $22,400 to the city of Woodland for a permit for the Rose Way Industrial Park wall.