COMMISSION
AGENDA MEMORANDUM Item No. 8b________
ACTION ITEM Date of Meeting August 8, 2023________
DATE: August 2, 2023
TO: Steve Metruck, Executive Director
FROM: Eloise Olivar, AFR Senior Manager Disbursements
SUBJECT: Claims and Obligations –July 2023
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 July 1 through 31, 2023 as follows:
Payment Type Payment Reference
Start Number
Payment
Reference End
Number
Amount
Accounts Payable Checks
949129
949478
$ 7,151,246.05
Accounts Payable ACH
056499
057398
$ 54,324,115.38
Accounts Payable Wire Transfers
016099
016119
$ 16,194,705.66
Payroll Checks
207861
208346
$ 202,422.09
Payroll ACH
1144446
1149069
$ 15,390,429.22
Total Payments
$93,262,918.40
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 December 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.
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8b
Meeting Date August 8, 2023
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 July 2023, over $77,670,067.09 in payments were made to nearly 749 vendors, comprised
of 2,200 invoices and over 9,996 accounting expense. About 91 percent of the accounts payable payments
made in the month fall into the Construction, Employee Benefits, Payroll Taxes, Leasehold Taxes, Contracted
Services, Insurance, Utility Expenses, Janitorial Services, Sales Taxes, and Environmental Remediation. Payroll
expenses for the month of July were $15,592,851.31.
Top 15 Payment Category Summary:
Category
Payment Amount
Construction
31,132,662.12
Employee Benefits
10,166,309.27
Payroll Taxes
6,109,562.54
Leasehold Taxes
5,072,579.83
Contracted Services
4,859,913.10
Insurance
3,780,279.78
Utility Expenses
3,158,974.09
Janitorial Services
2,898,022.22
Sales Taxes
1,857,061.48
Environmental Remediation
1,280,645.55
Software
876,365.88
Computers &Telephone
825,742.56
Maintenance Inventory
824,864.27
Parking Taxes
714,418.48
Equipment Maintenance
617,570.32
Other Categories Total:
3,495,095.60
Net Payroll
15,592,851.31
Total Payments:
$93,262,918.40
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8b
Meeting Date August 8, 2023
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 August 8, 2023, 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