Stormy seas ahead for bill to hike Port of Palm Beach board pay?
jkennedy@gatehousemedia.com
A proposal that would almost double the pay of Port of Palm Beach commissioners cleared a Florida House panel Monday but appears likely to face rough seas in the Legislature.
Port of Palm Beach commissioners, who are elected to the part-time post, earn $9,500 annually – a rate unchanged since 1999.
The legislation (HB 1437) by Reps. Bill Hager, R-Boca Raton, and Bobby Powell, D-Riviera Beach, would boost the salary to $16,000-a-year and allow for 3 percent annual increases after that.
Powell told the Local Government Affairs subcommittee that port business is booming under the five-member district's leadership since the last pay raise.
"They've increased the amount of business they do three times since that time," Powell said. "It's a very important position."
Lawmakers, however, were skeptical.
"I'm not sure the $16,000 is the appropriate number," said Rep. Charlie Stone, R-Ocala.
Rep. Jennifer Sullivan, R-Mount Dora, also questioned why 3 percent annual increases would be allowed under the bill, a local measure that has the support of the Palm Beach County legislative delegation.
The port's taxing district includes West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach and the county's northern area, but the board hasn't hasn't levied taxes since 1974. Instead, the district, established in 1915, the district pulls in more than $26 million in revenue through rents, royalties and service charges on port business.
The Port of Palm Beach also is rare among Florida's 14 deep water ports in electing port commissioners, according to those testifying at Monday's hearing.
The debate in the House committee Monday over how much pay was fair for the port commissioners took on a 'Goldilocks' quality.
Rep. Lake Ray, R-Jacksonville, questioned the pay raise bill, proposing changes that would dramatically revamp the idea.
But Rep. Daphne Campbell, D-Miami, said she was stunned by the low rate of pay. She wanted to eliminate the 3 percent cap and let commissioners hike their salaries even more.
"We all have families. We all know the cost of living is going up all the time," Campbell said. "Otherwise, they're going to be going to welfare…At least they could have a better life."
But there are some perks to the job. Port commissioners occasionally get stung by critics for their globetrotting to port conferences and gatherings across the nation and the world.
Ed Oppel, who retired in 2014 as commission chairman, spent $36,000 in the previous 2½ years attending conferences and port meetings in Jerusalem, Bogota, Colombia, Antigua, Guatemala, Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities.
One of the less exotic ports of call for Oppel in 2014 was Tallahassee, where he lobbied for a similar bill to raise port commissioner salaries. The bill died in committee that year. And the trip cost $1,509.
On Monday, Committee Chair Debbie Mayfield, R-Vero Beach, noted that "nobody has twisted their arms to run for these positions."
But Mayfield supported the bill Wednesday, while noting it still has two more committee stops before heading to the House floor.
"There's plenty of time to make adjustments," she told Powell and committee members.