The Port of Seattle needs some serious, fundamental improvements, the Municipal League of King County found, after a yearlong study called “The Port of Seattle: Where It’s Been, and Where It’s Going With the Public’s Dollars.”
Accountability, transparency, ethics and use of public resources all need improvement, along with a renewed focus on the port’s core responsibility: supporting freight, passengers and the maritime industry, according to the critical report.
Municipal League Chairman Brad Meacham said there are already encouraging signs of change at the port.
“This review finds room for further improvement to make the port more accountable and better perform its mission for the citizens of King County,” Meacham said. “We hope this helps accelerate the pace of reform.”
The Port of Seattle disagrees – in some cases strenuously – with some of the findings in the report. Its response is available on the Municipal League’s Web site, along with the full report.
The league and the port have significantly different viewpoints on some issues, such as real estate holdings.
The Municipal League report questions several hundred acres of port-owned land that sits unused. The port responds that the property is part of a long-term real estate investment strategy, not the “economic wasteland” portrayed by the league.
The report also raises questions about the port contract with Carnival cruises and the port’s business model for cruise operations as well as other operations
“The Port of Seattle is committed to its role as a premier global, international gateway,” port officials responded. “We continue to plan for, and provide, infrastructure improvements to help the port stay competitive with other U.S. West Coast and Canadian ports.
“The competing ports and their stakeholders are making investments in an attempt to draw business away from the Port of Seattle and the entire U.S. West Coast. This effort is resulting in increased jobs and economic benefit for other regions.
“The Port of Seattle is absolutely committed to growing its businesses here, fighting to keep these jobs and dollars in Washington state,” according to the response.
Here is a summary of the other key findings provided by the Municipal League:
1) The port’s overly broad mission should be revised to focus on the core responsibility of supporting freight, passengers and the maritime industry.
2) Use of public resources is a prime concern. The port’s rationale often isn’t well justified to the Port of Seattle Commission or the public, and prime real estate remains underused. The levy should be used in a more transparent manner, and noncore property should be sold or transferred to other governments.
3) When making major investments, the port should improve accountability and transparency by presenting costs and benefits of all viable options for commission and public consideration.
4) The commission should reaffirm its emphasis on the public interest by making ethical culture and best practices an explicit commission oversight function and key management responsibility of the chief executive officer.
