Answers to some of the most commonly asked questions are provided below. Please feel free to contact us for additional information.

Is the Port Authority a government agency?
The Port Authority is a government agency authorized under state code and created by the city and county. The port authority has the responsibilities of a public agency, including holding public meetings and making its records available for public inspection.

Does the Port Authority fall under the governance of the city or Cuyahoga County government?
No. The Port Authority is an independent agency of government. The Port Authority is similar to the Regional Transit Authority in Cleveland and is responsible for its own operations.

Does the Port Authority oversee the airport? Are the Department of Port Control and the Port Authority the same agencies?
Unlike port authorities in Toledo and Columbus, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority does not manage airports. The city of Cleveland's department of port control manages the airports. The name “port control” was developed under the city charter when the city managed the airports and seaports. Maritime/seaport operations were transferred to the Port Authority in 1968.

Is U.S. Customs under the jurisdiction of the Port Authority?
Customs is a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. While the Port Authority works closely with Customs to notify them when overseas cargo and ships arrive, Customs is an independent authority.

How does the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority finance capital improvements at the Port Authority?
Every five years, the port authority goes before the voters of Cuyahoga County for a maritime levy. The levy is for .13 mills and brings tax revenues of about $3.2 million per year to the Port Authority or $16 million during the five-year period.

When did the last levy pass?
It was passed in November 2007 with 64 percent of the vote.

Does the Port Authority own ships? Does the Port Authority employ the workforce to unload incoming ships?
The Port Authority does not own any ships, nor does the Port Authority employ the workforce that loads and unloads ships. The Port Authority contracts with private companies to load and unload the ships, and the ships are owned by private companies that supply raw materials or semi-finished products to industries in Northeast Ohio.

How many ships come into the Port Authority over a shipping season?
The number varies each year, but 959 ships visited the Port Authority in 2006.

What types of cargo does the Port Authority handle?
The Port Authority primarily imports bulk and semi-finished products and machinery. Bulk cargo consists of iron ore, stone, cement and salt. Semi-finished products and machinery include various forms of steel produced in other countries and machinery, particularly for the automotive industry. Each year, between 13 million tons and 15 million tons of cargo enter and leave the Port Authority.

What is the depth of the water in North Coast Harbor? What is the depth of the water at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River’s mouth?
North Coast Harbor was designed as a harbor of refuge for recreational boaters, and the water depths are 7.0 feet at low water datum throughout most of the harbor. The area where the Goodtime III excursion ship berths is dredged to 8.0 at LWD.

The federal channel at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River is maintained at a depth of -27.0 LWP. South of the Old River bed, the river is dredged to -23.0 LWD. NOTE: These are design depths only, and the port cannot guarantee their accuracy.

What is low water datum?
Low water datum is a height above sea level used to measure water depth. All ports on Lake Erie use a LWD of 568.6 feet above sea level. This provides a constant reference point when using depths shown on a chart. Each lake has a different LWD. Water levels can change hourly due to winds, atmospheric pressure or rainfall and usually vary from +3.0 to -3.0 LWD.

How does the Port Authority participate in the redevelopment of Cleveland?
Through the movement of cargo in and out of the Port Authority, maritime activities support 11,000 manufacturing jobs, $570 million in personal incomes, $882 million in business revenues and $200 million in local, state and federal taxes.

The Development Finance Group has taken the port authority’s ability to finance projects on the waterfront and made them available on a much wider scale. Since 1993, the Port Authority has helped to finance projects in excess of $800 million in Cleveland and its surrounding communities.

How does the Port Authority inform the public of new projects and activities?
All Port Authority projects and activities are discussed during committee meetings and board meetings, which are open to the public. The Port Authority's Web site is another good source of information on the latest port projects and financings. The "News" section contains an archive of all Port Authority news releases and outlines the latest actions by our board. A complete listing of projects is in the Development Finance section of the Web site.

How is the public made aware of committee and board meetings?
A complete list of meetings is posted on our Web site.

Are there other ways to learn about pending Port Authority projects?
The Port Authority meets with many potential clients regarding our financing products. We are very careful to take to the board only those projects which have the highest probability of transpiring. It would not be informative to list the many companies seeking port financing, and it could also compromise a private company's proprietary information. Potential transactions are reviewed by the Committee for Regional Economic Advance before being considered by the entire board. Both processes are open to the public. Additional information may be available under the Ohio Public Records Act.

Is there a way to track tax revenue in the budget or the audit?
The Port Authority currently collects approximately $3.2 million of tax revenue annually. The 2005 budget includes debt service payments on a number of debt issues which were used to finance maritime-related capital projects:

The 1999A Port Improvements Bonds (and 1999 Tax Anticipation Notes which were retired in 2003) were issued to improve Dock 20/22 and to purchase the Old River Property, a portion of which is leased to The Great Lakes Towing Company.

The State 166 Loan was used for a portion of the purchase of the Old River Property.

The 2002 Tax Anticipation Notes were issued to finance the relocation of the ore loader from Lorain to the Cleveland Bulk Terminal.

The collective 2005 debt service on this debt is $2.6 million. This is included in the debt service section of the budget.

The remaining $600,000 of annual tax revenue is either spent on maritime-related capital projects or held in reserve for future projects, all of which are approved by the board on a case-by-case basis. Examples include warehouse repair and maintenance such as roofs, siding, doors; dock repairs and maintenance such as fenders, curbs, and bulkhead repairs; heavy-lift crane repairs and maintenance including a major rehabilitation project a few years ago; and annual paving projects. The Port Authority has also funded over $500,000 for the required local share for three recent grants (ferry feasibility study, Port Authority security, and the new Port Authority entrance from State Route 2 at West Third Street).

So the tax revenue is used to fund maritime-related capital improvements and acquisitions. It is functional for this organization to maintain its financial information in the format you see in the monthly financial statements and budgets. The format of the annual audit report is governed by accounting standards.

Does the Port Authority conduct performance audits to track specific capital projects?
No. We maintain records that track project costs in formats which are functional for us, and we maintain tight control of all aspects of our capital projects. All capital project contracts are individually approved by the board on a not-to-exceed basis, and any cost overruns require additional board approval.

Are legal fees allocated back to the relevant projects?
Legal fees have been capitalized in some larger projects, but generally speaking they are not. There are not usually material legal fees associated with most of our repair and maintenance projects. Our auditors have approved our practice as regards the capitalization of legal fees.

Where is the information available to taxpayers?
Information is available in a variety of ways, including on our Web site, via our committee and board meetings, in our newsletters and through our news releases. Additional information is available as provided by the Ohio Public Records Act.

Does the Port Authority use tax dollars used to finance projects outside of Cuyahoga County?
No tax dollars are ever used to finance projects either inside or outside of Cuyahoga County.

How does Cuyahoga County benefit when the Port Authority finances projects in other counties?
We live in a metropolitan region and the Port Authority board believes that county and city political boundaries should not be viewed as economic boundaries. Political jurisdictions are meant to define boundaries for the delivery of police, fire, justice system and human services. In the economic world, people live and work in different cities and counties. A project for the metropolitan area must be viewed as for the good of all. Just as with projects within Cuyahoga County, the borrower pays fees to the Port Authority to cover the Port Authority's operating costs and to make a contribution to our capital reserve fund.