The Port of Vancouver USA Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the port’s tax levy and 2019 budget during its regularly scheduled board meeting.
The U.S. West Coast port's commission voted to hold the port levy steady for the seventh year in a row, meaning annual taxes on a $350,000 home – the median price in Clark County – will be approximately $85 in 2019.
At $58.4 million, the port’s 2019 budget is $10.1 million less than its 2018 budget. The decrease is primarily due to a shift from a multi-year construction program to maintenance of the port’s public assets.
More than 30 strategies from the port’s 2018 Strategic Plan will be implemented. The plan, which guides the port’s activities and budget for the next decade, was approved by the Board of Commissioners in September after an 11-month process that included broad public and stakeholder input.
Other budget highlights include a $13.4 million capital program, including $6.7 million for maintenance of port infrastructure and IT systems, and expansion and renewal of port facilities, and continued investment in the Terminal 1 waterfront project, including ground stabilization, utility relocation, Renaissance Trail design and construction, and designs for dock replacement, a public marketplace and revamped public amphitheater.