Port of Vancouver USA Commission to vote on 2012 budget Tuesday

The Port of Vancouver USA Board of Commissioners will meet Tuesday, November 8, to attend to five action items, including the proposed approval of the port's 2012 budget. Open session will begin at 9:30 a.m., in the Commission Room at the port's administrative office, located at 3103 NW Lower River Road, Vancouver.

A public hearing on the port's proposed $84,658,374 budget for 2012 will be held as part of Tuesday's meeting.

The commissioners also will consider a proposed one percent increase in the port's regular property tax levy, as part of the budget process.  The increase would mean that a port district property owner with a home valued at $250,000 would pay an additional $1.98 annually in property taxes to the port. 

Once collected, the port's property tax levy is used only for capital improvements, such as the port's purchase of the former Alcoa-Evergreen property; the repayment of bond debt; and environmental clean-up efforts.  Day-to-day operations, such as port employee salaries, are paid out of port-generated operating revenue.

Commissioners Brian Wolfe, Nancy Baker and Jerry Oliver adopted the port's preliminary budget on October 25 as the first step in the public process of establishing the organization's 2012 budget. On October 26, the three commissioners discussed the budget in detail with port staff at a half-day workshop, which was open to the public.

Other action items for the November 8 meeting include amending the port's Comprehensive Scheme of Harbor Improvements and Industrial Development to allow the demolition of five buildings located within the port; authorizing the acquisition of property from the BNSF Railway Company for the West Vancouver Freight Access rail project; and recognition of retiring Identity Clark County executive director Ginger Metcalf for her considerable contributions to the county's economic wellbeing.

The regular meeting will be televised live on CVTV (Cable Channel 21) beginning at 9:30 a.m. It also will be streaming live on www.cvtv.org and will be archived later in the day on the same website for future viewing.