Template revised September 22, 2016.
COMMISSION
AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Item No.
4b
ACTION ITEM
Date of Meeting
June 27, 2017
DATE: June 9, 2017
TO: Dave Soike, Interim Executive Director
FROM: Rudy Caluza, Director, Accounting & Financial Reporting
Debbi Browning, AFR Asst. Director, General Accounting/Business Technology
Duane Hill, AFR Sr. Manager, Disbursements
SUBJECT: Claims and Obligations May 2017
ACTION REQUESTED
Request Port Commission approval of the Port Auditor’s payment of the salaries and claims of the Port
pursuant to RCW 42.24.180 for payments issued during the period of May 1, 2017, through May 31, 2017, as
follows:
Payment Type
Payment Reference
Start Number
Payment
Reference End
Number
Amount
Accounts Payable Checks
917377
$ 4,874,830.91
Accounts Payable ACH/EFT
000002 / 049451
$ 31,410,382.22
Accounts Payable Wire
Transfers
014640
$ 12,723,627.03
Payroll Checks
185855
$ 270,058.16
Payroll ACH
805079
$ 8,762,679.13
Total Payments
$ 58,041,577.45
JUSTIFICATION
Pursuant to RCW 42.24.180, “the Port’s legislative body” (the Commission) is required to approve in a public
meeting, all payments of claims within one month of issuance.
OVERSIGHT
All of these payments have been previously authorized either through direct Commission action or delegation
of authority to the CEO and through his or her staff. Detailed information on Port expenditures is provided to
the Commission through comprehensive budget presentations as well as the publicly released Budget
Document, which provides an even greater level of detail. The Port’s operating and capital budget is approved
by resolution in November for the coming fiscal year, and the Commission also approves the Salary and
Benefit Resolution around the same time to authorize pay and benefit programs. Notwithstanding the Port’s
budget approval, individual capital projects and contracts exceeding certain dollar thresholds are also
subsequently brought before the Commission for specific authorization prior to commencement of the project
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No.Page 2 of 3
Meeting Date: June 27, 2017
Template revised September 22, 2016.
or contract—if they are below the thresholds the CEO is delegated authority to approve them. Expenditures
are monitored against budgets on a monthly basis by management and reported comprehensively to the
Commission quarterly.
Effective internal controls over all Port procurement, contracting and disbursements are also in place to
ensure proper central oversight, delegation of authority, separation of duties, payment approval and
documentation, and signed perjury statement certifications for all payments. Port disbursements are also
regularly monitored against spending authorizations. All payment transactions and internal controls are
subject to periodic Port internal audits and annual external audits conducted by both the State Auditor’s
Office and the Port’s independent auditors.
For the month of May 2017, $49 million in accounts payable payments were made to over 727
vendors/contractors, comprised of 2,891 vouchers and nearly 9,200 accounting expense transactions. About
75 percent of the accounts payable payments made in the month fall into the Construction, Employee
Benefits, Contracted Services, Payroll Taxes, Leasehold Taxes, NWSA Payment, Utility, Janitorial and
Sales/Parking Taxes expense categories. The following chart summarizes the top 15 expense categories by
total spend.
Category
Payment Amount
Construction
17,456,782.51
Employee Benefits
7,095,369.72
Contracted Services
5,948,397.80
Payroll Taxes
3,710,437.21
Leasehold Taxes
3,247,968.96
NWSA
2,509,352.43
Utility Expenses
2,119,847.91
Janitorial Services
1,229,847.49
Sales Taxes
1,108,254.34
Parking Taxes
558,015.00
Public Expense
524,505.99
A/R Related Payments
463,255.86
Legal
325,710.20
Employee Travel Expenses
293,765.53
Maintanance Inventory
273,439.01
Other Categories Total
2,143,890.20
Port Net Payroll
9,032,737.29
Total Payments :
58,041,577.45
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No.Page 3 of 3
Meeting Date: June 27, 2017
Template revised September 22, 2016.
Appropriate and effective internal controls are in place to ensure that the above obligations were processed in
accordance with Port of Seattle procurement/payment policies and delegation of authority.
At a meeting of the Port Commission held on June 27, 2017, it was moved that, pursuant to RCW 42.24.180,
the Port Commission approve the Port Auditor’s payment of the above salaries and claims of the Port:
Port Commissioners present and voting in
favor of approval