The Port of Seattle Commission took action yesterday to streamline its governing and finance structure. The new changes will better allow the organization to efficiently fulfill its mission of providing world-class facilities that advance economic development across the region and state while providing per diem changes that align with those of Washington State’s elected legislature.
The state vests all authority to run the Port with Port Commissioners; through the delegation of authority the Commission delegates authority to the Executive Director. This policy, in part, allows the Executive to disperse funds for projects and was last updated in 2009. Since then, buying power has declined significantly, meanwhile, the Port’s activity has increased dramatically, creating an out-of-balance and inefficient environment. By increasing the delegation authority for the Executive Director, staff can initiate projects up to 8-10 weeks faster. These efficiencies can free up approximately 3600 staff hours for higher value work that would previously be spent preparing materials for and participating in bi-weekly Commission meetings.
Following a significant study, this change in the delegation amount will increase the Commissioner’s effective oversight, allowing the Commission to focus on policy and strategies in addition to those areas of most impact and interest to the community while holding the executive accountable through monthly public reporting on delegated authority expenditures. Commissioner amendments limited the raise in the delegation authority to $2,000,000 for the first year, increased clarity about which areas the Commission retains authority over, and added a Port Internal Audit review to ensure adherence and review implementation. The threshold established by the Commission will allow transactional and operational items to move forward to the Executive Director faster while ensuring the Commission still approves the entire Port budget on an annual basis. The delegation of authority will rise to $5,000,000 after a one-year period, pursuant to Commission review, and unless the Commission directs otherwise.
The increased delegation comes at a time when there is greater demand for Port services and projects. The Port of Seattle Commission recently passed a budget making the largest investments in people and the planet in its history. Increased funding will go toward upgrades and improvements at SEA Airport, where travel is rebounding to pre-pandemic levels, improvements at maritime facilities, environmental projects, workforce development, and other economic initiatives.
The Commission also raised the number of days for which commissioners may requisition a per diem from 120 to 205 per year and the amount of daily compensation for per diem from $128 to $185 per day. In 2013 the Commission voted to link commissioners’ salaries to that of Washington State legislators but did not address the per diem, which both legislators and commissioners may receive. This action by the Commission links the amount of commissioners’ per diem to that of legislators.
Since 2013 commissioners’ workload has increased significantly. The creation of the Northwest Seaport Alliance in 2015 increased formal meetings by 50%. New working committees and an increase in stakeholder and constituent meetings has also increased substantially, which has resulted in most commissioners expiring their annual per diems in August, effectively working for less pay through the remainder of the calendar year.
The increase in annual pay of up to an additional $22,565 is intended to inspire more and more diverse candidates to run for election as commissioner. The Commission’s action is also in keeping with the guidelines of the Washington Citizens’ Commission of Salaries (WCCSEO) for Elected Officials, which sets the salaries for state elected officials. WCCSEO states that “State law requires that WCCSEO base the salaries of the elected officials on realistic standards in order to pay them according to the duties of their office and to attract citizens of the highest quality to public service.”
The new per diem rates are only applicable to newly elected or re-elected, not current, commissioners.
Peter McGraw | Port of Seattle Media Officer
(206) 787-3446 | mcgraw.p@portseattle.org
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