Auditors note that the Port is just about underwater, financially. It didn't help that they spent half a million plus on lawsuits:
The Port spent $527,000 on legal battles with Oregon LNG, the Bank of Astoria and others since fiscal year 2008, according to Browne. The Port is suing its former and Clatsop County’s current attorney, Heather Reynolds.
But they've been bungling along on other fronts for years as well; among other things, they made the often fatal mistake of "deferring maintenance" - i.e., spending that money on other stuff. It's always less expensive to maintain early and often, rather than trying to play catch-up down the road.
They got into gambling, as well, betting much of the farm on a log export facility that didn't pan out, and betting again on a facility expansion for a single electric vehicle manufacturer, Lektro. Their product line revolves around one component - electric "tugs" for pulling and pushing aircraft. When the recession hit the airline industry, it hit Lektro hard as well, and it left the Port holding the bag to the tune of about half a million dollars.
It's not that Lektro's a bad company; it isn't. But the Port needs to stop pretending to be a publicly-funded development company and start running itself like a business.
And it needs to quit playing the ponies.
