PORT TOWNSEND — Port of Port Townsend commissioners reviewed the 2025 preliminary draft budget and a draft of proposed rate cards for next year.

The draft budget, presented Wednesday, allocates $8 million for operating expenses and projects $8.4 million in operating revenues. The estimated net operating income of $526,000 for 2025 was slightly more than what has been forecast for 2024, but far below the $1.2 million the port had anticipated this year.

“It’s been prepared on the revenue side with a conservative approach,” said Connie Anderson, director of finance and administration. “Things have leveled off in the economy, and we have not seen the level of growth that we’ve seen in the last few years.”

The port forecast $7.4 million in operating expenses this year, about $300,000 above budget, and operating revenues of $7.9 million, about $450,000 below budget.

Anderson said among the biggest hits to the port’s operating expenditures were the rising costs of insurance — up 47 percent since 2021 — and employee benefits that will cost 22 percent more next year.

No new staff will be added in 2025, Executive Director Eron Berg said.

The port will host a public hearing on its 2025 draft budget at a special meeting on at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 22 at the Point Hudson Pavilion Building, 355 Hudson St. in Port Townsend. A second hearing will be conducted during the Nov. 13 regular commissioners meeting at 1 p.m. at the same location.

Most of the proposed rates for port properties in 2025 will increase by a Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 3.8 percent, with a few rates remaining the same as in 2024 and others increasing by a fixed amount, Anderson told commissioners. The changes had been incorporated into the 2025 preliminary draft budget, she said.

Among the new rates are parking fees at two Point Hudson sites: the Armory Building/Landfall and the Cupola House. A half-day (up to five hours) will cost $7.50 and daily year-round parking will cost $12 (not including tax). Parking in the back 40 (other than overnight and extended stays) will remain free.

Commissioners discussed how the rate schedule for moorage could be simplified so it would be easier for vessel owners to understand and harbormaster Kristian Ferrero and his staff to manage.

Ferrero said the port anticipates more traffic now that the jetty construction projects at Port Hudson are complete. Having a better structure in place for rates would be helpful, he said, whether that was by examining the rate structure or through a change in policy.

Commissioner Pam Petranek noted one slip had seven different rates depending on the vessel’s size, the time of year and how long it stayed, among other variables.

“Implementation of so many rates is a problem,” Commissioner Carol Hasse said.

Commissioners agreed to continue their discussion about rates at their Oct. 9 workshop.

The biggest chunk of the port’s five-year, $143 million capital improvement plan presented by Capital Projects Director Matt Klontz was dedicated to the $67 million Sea Level Rise Project that is scheduled to begin in summer 2026. The port also intends to invest $17 million in projects at Jefferson County International Airport, including $8 million to develop 24 acres for a light industrial park on the site.

Commissioners said they would continue a discussion at a later date of the possibility of charging cruise ships a per-passenger port fee similar to the $4 fee the Port of Friday Harbor imposed. Berg said the funds could possibly be used for needed maintenance on Union Wharf.

Commissioners unanimously passed the consent agenda, which included canceling a grant funding agreement with the state Recreation and Conservation Office for replacing the linear dock at Boat Haven.

An updated cost estimate pushed the original estimate of $2.7 million to nearly $4 million and increased the port’s share of the expense. Certain restrictions on the dock’s use tied to RCO funding also contributed to the port’s decision to step away from the grant, Klontz said. The port can likely obtain federal funding that would fund more of the project and come without constraints, he said.

The project is still part of the capital improvement program, Klontz said, but it has been pushed back to summer 2029.

The preliminary draft 2025 budget and proposed 2025 rate card can be found at tinyurl.com/4th4fxx7.

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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.