Port receives $70,000 payment from military

By Matt Batcheldor | The Olympian • Published June 10, 2008

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OLYMPIA – The military has reimbursed the Port of Olympia $70,000 related to November's protests of military shipments there, and an Olympia city councilman wondered Tuesday why the city isn't receiving some of that money from the port.

The city did receive money from the port in a separate agreement reached earlier this year. In March, the port agreed to reimburse the city for $70,000 for its expenses, which included $112,168 in police overtime, equipment and damage to a police car. The city, in turn, agreed to reimburse Tumwater $7,243 for its police department's assistance.

But that agreement was reached before it was known that the military would reimburse the port.

Councilman Joe Hyer asked Tuesday why the port doesn't reimburse Olympia an additional $42,000 for the rest of its overtime expenses.

"The port made significant profit off this deal," he said of the military shipment. An analysis by The Olympian showed that the port made at least $400,000 from the shipment.

What's more, City Attorney Tom Morrill is asking the Olympia City Council's finance committee for an additional $50,000 to prosecute protesters arrested during the shipment. The council agreed Tuesday night that the additional $50,000 would come out of the $70,000 the port gave to the city.

City Manager Steve Hall said the council will have to take a formal vote on the additional money when the city considers amended budgets that come up throughout the year.

He said the extra money is needed to pay another prosecutor to help with cases while City Prosecutor Kalo Wilcox focuses on prosecuting port protesters. Hall added that the figure is just an estimate.

Port of Olympia representatives were skeptical of Hyer's request for more money.

Ed Galligan, the port's executive director, said the $70,000 from the military was to pay for the city's cost, which he and Hall had previously agreed on. The reason it was less than the city's $112,168 expense was that "there was some concern about redundancy in some of the services and whether all of the police action that amounted to $112,000 was directly related to protecting the cargo."

'Being unlawful'

Port Commissioner Bill McGregor said part of the cost was because "protesters were down there being unlawful," and "that's why we didn't reimburse 100 percent."

Galligan said the port billed the military $70,000. But Hall said the city asked for the port to submit the remaining $42,000 to the military for reimbursement.

"We were hoping the feds would pay our $42,000 as well," Hall said. "We did not expect any more (than $70,000) from the port directly."

McGregor said the city's $70,000 reimbursement was "an equitable part of the cost." He said the commission would have to take under advisement a request for more money.

But, "at this point I would say we had done what we could," he said. "We can't now go back and bill the military for even more, whatever that difference is."

The military's payment marks the first time it ever has reimbursed the port, McGregor said.