Check Out the Port Authority’s Proposed 2010 Budget

By • Dec 8th, 2009 • Category: Blog

Last week the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey a draft 2010 budget that reflects the bleak economic picture.

The economic crisis has hurt the agency, and it predicts total income to be down 5.4 percent in 2010 from 2009.

“The Port Authority is not recession-proof,” executive director Chris Ward says in a statement. “Like all public agencies, we have been hit hard by the economic downturn and have made difficult decisions to make certain our spending lives within our means.”

So what are those decisions?

The proposed budget calls for zero growth in operating expenses for the second straight year, most notably by reducing the total staff number by 150, which will bring the agency’s staffing level to the lowest point in 40 years. These additional planned layoffs will bring the total number of non-police layoffs since 2004 above the 500 mark. The budget also attempts to contain costs by reducing overtime and external consultants.

By implementing these cuts, the Port Authority expects it will be able to maintain funding levels for several key projects:

  • $357 million to continue the overhaul of the PATH system, including new cars and signals.
  • $504 million for the ARC train tunnel into New York City, an increase from the $340 million provided in last year’s budget. Both contributions will go towards the $3 billion that the agency has pledged to the tunnel.
  • $21 million toward ongoing conservation and environmental programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a new Clean Trucks Program to finance replacement of older, more polluting trucks at the port facilities, and other regional investments in green projects.
  • $15 million for the rehabilitation of the Holland Tunnel ventilation system.

But don’t take our word for it; the agency’s budget is all online for you to check out; public comment is open until Thursday.

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is the founding editor of the Jersey City Independent; he now works for a public-policy nonprofit in Trenton.
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