COMMISSION
AGENDA MEMORANDUM Item No. 8b________
ACTION ITEM Date of Meeting December 12, 2023____
DATE: December 5, 2023
TO: Steve Metruck, Executive Director
FROM: Eloise Olivar, AFR Senior Manager Disbursements
SUBJECT: Claims and Obligations –November 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 November 1 through 30, 2023 as follows:
Payment Type Payment Reference
Start Number
Payment
Reference End
Number
Amount
Accounts Payable Checks
950741
951272
$8,006,681.15
Accounts Payable ACH
060277
061298
$53,245,162.58
Accounts Payable Wire Transfers
016169
016191
$14,821,854.22
Payroll Checks
209830
210257
$127,847.63
Payroll ACH
1165573
1170277
$15,074,200.30
Total Payments
$91,275,745.88
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 December 12, 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 November 2023, over $76,073,697.95 in payments were made to nearly 825 vendors,
comprised of 2,793 invoices and over 11,500 accounting expense transactions. About 91 percent of the
accounts payable payments made in the month fall into the Construction, Employee Benefits, Payroll Taxes,
Contracted Services, Janitorial Services, Utility Expenses, Sales Taxes, Software, Insurance, Rebates, and
other expense categories. Net payroll expense for the month of November was $15,202,047.93.
Top 10 Payment Category Summary:
Category
Payment Amount
Construction
31,065,961.54
Employee Benefits
11,432,021.16
Payroll Taxes
8,594,017.93
Contracted Services
8,258,155.36
Janitorial Services
2,565,575.54
Utility Expenses
1,861,894.62
Sales Taxes
1,857,861.57
Software
1,313,211.01
Insurance
1,064,629.28
Rebates
965,103.21
Other Categories Total:
7,095,266.73
Net Payroll
15,202,047.93
Total Payments:
$91,275,745.88
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8b
Meeting Date December 12, 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 December 12, 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