While two of the city’s other independent authorities are immersed in controversy, Jaxport is making money, not waves.
Eric Green, executive director of the Jacksonville Port Authority, or Jaxport, was just given a bonus of $205,000, as a result of meeting certain goals specified in his contract.
One board member called it well-deserved. And the agency has not been making headlines during the past few years like JEA and the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA).
One head of JEA went to prison and another retired under fire. Currently, a special committee of the City Council is looking into the operations of the JTA under the previous director, who accepted a more lucrative job in another city.
JEA just raised its rates, again, and JTA is in a deep budget hole, forcing it to lay off employees, shut down the Skyway and reduce bus service.
Meanwhile, Jaxport, which runs port operations run by the local government, is adapting to difficulties related to world trade, such as the illegal blockage of the Straits of Hormuz by the terrorist state of Iran, and attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
At the same time, it is continuing to collect revenue from other ventures, offsetting a slight loss from container cargo.
This will only improve since the 2022 completion of the Jacksonville Harbor Deepening Project, a major infrastructure initiative to tale the depth of the federal shipping channel along the St. Johns River from 40 feet to 47 feet. It allows larger “post-Panamax” container ships to call on Jacksonville’s marine terminals.
The $420 million project will deepen the main channel to 47 feet and expand a turning basins at Blount Island to ensure safe vessel passage.
Deepening the river channel has been an ongoing effort since the late 19th century. The entrance to the St. Johns River at that time was a mere 12 feet. There would be no port operations without the continued efforts to keep the channel open to larger ships.
Farsighted people have continued to push for a modern port that could compete with others on America’s East Coast. Jacksonville is uniquely situated, being at the southeastern corner of the nation, available by interstate highway, rail and air to connect the entire United States to Europe and the rest of the world.
Last year Jaxport had more than 10 million tons of cargo and had 200,548 passengers on cruise ships leaving from the port. It supports more than 138,000 jobs throughout the region and creates $31 billion in economic impact every year.
Before joining JAXPORT, Green held several positions in the city government, including deputy chief administrative officer, and was instrumental in the development, passage and implementation of the $2 billion Better Jacksonville Plan.
Green is a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Transportation and Logistics Advisory Council and is on the board of directors of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, JAX Chamber, and Tiger Academy of Jacksonville.
Green’s responsibility at the port is large and his compensation should match that responsibility, especially so long as the port authority avoids the kind of problems other city agencies are having.
