The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey adopted a 2015 budget Dec. 10 that keeps operating expenses flat while also addressing capital needs.
The fiscal plan includes an operating budget of $2.9 billion and a $3.6 billion capital budget. The Port Authority's Board of Commissioners also approved spending $1.3 billion for debt service.
The $2.9 billion operating budget, which is the same as the current 2014 spending plan, includes $108 million for the World Trade Center site, which Port Authority officials say will be offset by $120 million in incremental revenue from tenants at One World Trade Center.
"The revenue from the World Trade Center site will exceed new World Trade Center expenses in 2015," Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye said during a press conference following the meeting.
The $3.6 billion capital budget allocates $1.6 billion to complete construction projects at the World Trade Center site including a new transportation Hub. It also earmarks $271 million toward raising the Bayonne Bridge, $260 million for the LaGuardia Airport Central Terminal Building project and $212 million for John F. Kennedy International Airport runway rehabilitation. The budget also allocates $36 million for continued redevelopment of the George Washington Bridge Bus Station and $35 million to constructing a new Goethals Bridge as part of a continued $1.5 billion public-private partnership.
"As stewards of critical transportation facilities and the public's funds, this budget strikes the appropriate balance between being fiscally disciplined, while increasing our capital investment in the region's bridges, tunnels, ports and airports," Port Authority Vice Chairman Scott Rechler said in a statement.
