POV-BOC-11182014_4483-web

Budget for 2015 also includes significant revenue increase, capital investments


VANCOUVER, Wash. – For the third year in a row, the Port of Vancouver USA Board of Commissioners has chosen not to take the one percent tax increase ports are allowed annually under Washington state law.

The board’s Nov. 18 decision keeps the amount of public investment in the port at just under $10 million annually, continuing a trend that started in 2009. Due to increasing Clark County property values, the 2015 port tax levy equates to $90.25 in annual property tax on a $250,000 home, a reduction of $9.50 from 2014.

“Nine dollars may not seem like much,” said Commissioner Brian Wolfe, “but when you consider the port’s steady growth and steadily increasing return on investment to the community, like our investments in rail infrastructure and light industrial property, it’s pretty impressive.”

At $98.6 million, the 2015 budget is the largest in the port’s 102-year history. Revenues are expected to increase $19 million over 2014, with most additional dollars coming from the port’s Dedicated Rail Service, an innovative new program moving goods between Vancouver and the Midcontinent.

The Dedicated Rail Service is expected to generate $18.5 million in revenue and is offset by $16.6 million in expenses. The projected $1.9 million net profit is part of the port’s expected growth for 2015. The port also expects to see increases in marine cargo, including agricultural products, automobiles, ceramic sand, fertilizer and steel.

Other budget highlights include:

  • $9.8 million in revenue from industrial leases, down slightly from the 2014 projection of $11 million.
  • $45 million investment in capital projects, including $17 million borrowed from the port’s line of credit. This investment helps improve port facilities and complete the port’s decade-long, $275 million West Vancouver Freight Access Project. The project removes a significant chokepoint from the regional rail system, reducing freight and passenger rail congestion by as much as 40 percent.
  • $6 million in revenue from the sale of property in the port’s Centennial Industrial Park, a premier light-industrial site.

Visit the Port of Vancouver’s budget Web page for more about the 2015 budget, the budgeting process, how tax dollars are invested in the community and more.

– POV –

The Port of Vancouver USA is one of the major ports on the Pacific Coast, and its competitive strengths include available land, versatile cargo handling capabilities, vast transportation networks, a highly skilled labor force and an exceptional level of service to its customers and community. For more information, please visit us at www.portvanusa.com.