COMMISSION
AGENDA MEMORANDUM Item No. 8b
ACTION ITEM Date of Meeting November 10, 2020
DATE: November 3, 2020
TO: Steve Metruck, Executive Director
FROM: Duane Hill, AFR Senior Manager Disbursements
SUBJECT: Claims and Obligations – October 2020
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 Oct 1 through Oct 31, 2020 as follows:
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 these payments have been previously authorized either through direct Commission action or delegation of
authority to the Executive Director 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
or contract—if they are below the thresholds the Executive Director is delegated authority to approve them.
Expenditures are monitored against budgets monthly by management and reported comprehensively to the
Commission quarterly.
108,354,563.50$
Total Payments
Accounts Payable Checks
Accounts Payable ACH
Accounts Payable Wire Transfers
936935
029795
015468
197255
5,138,814.13$
75,792,330.38$
Payment Reference
Start Number
Payment
Reference End
Number
Amount
Payment Type
937438
030521
015489
197490
996762
9,863,621.08$
115,231.62$
17,444,566.29$
Payroll ACH
990394
Payroll Checks
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8b
Meeting Date: November 10, 2020
Page 2 of 3
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 October 2020, over $90,794,765.59 in payments were made to nearly 718 vendors, comprised
of 2,113 invoices and over 7,114 accounting expense transactions. About 93 percent of the accounts payable
payments made in the month fall into the Construction, Employee Benefits, Contracted Services, Payroll Taxes,
Janitorial Services, Leasehold Taxes and Utility Expenses. Net payroll expense for the month of October was
$17,559,797.91. The following chart summarizes the top expense categories by total spend.
Top 15 Payment Category Summary:
Category Payment Amount
Construction 57,152,873.35$
Employee Benefits 8,129,994.30$
Contracted Services 6,123,137.35$
Payroll Taxes 4,351,651.51$
Janitorial Services 2,380,516.20$
Leasehold Taxes 2,351,932.82$
Utility Expenses 1,756,470.02$
Software 1,187,667.70$
Environmental Remediation 1,035,128.82$
Legal 993,541.63$
Insurance 906,454.62$
Maintenance Inventory 747,111.04$
Sales Taxes 551,372.11$
Permits 350,026.62$
Miscellaneous Expense 242,304.89$
Other Categories Total 2,534,582.61$
Net Payroll 17,559,797.91$
Total Payments 108,354,563.50$
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8b
Meeting Date: November 10, 2020
Page 3 of 3
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 November 10, 2020 it is hereby moved that, pursuant to RCW
42.24.180, the Port Commission approves the Port Auditor’s payment of the above salaries and claims of the
Port:
Port Commission
