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Goal is 34% cut

The port needs to trim an estimated $18.6 million in operating expenses, cutting them to $181.8 million, according to documents the commissioners were given to consider at a May 20 board meeting. The port is also aiming to cut its capital improvements budget by 34 percent over the next five years, from $967.6 million to $637.3 million. The port also must reduce its debt payments.
"Expenditure growth rate is outpacing the growth rate of revenues," said a briefing paper given to the commissioners.
Last week, Bob Britton, the chief negotiator for the Professional & Technical Engineers Local 21, wrote Anthony Batarse Jr., the board president, to lambaste the expected layoffs.
"Such a sudden and drastic reduction in staff will tax our organization to the point of implosion," he said, referring to the port. "The port has never implemented such a disproportionately massive layoff in its 80-year history."