Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission approves Fiscal Year 2021 Budget
September 17, 2020
Hancock County, MS (September 17, 2020) – The Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission unanimously approved the organization’s $27.2 Million budget for Fiscal Year 2021, which begins October 1, 2020.
Interim Chief Executive Officer Bill Cotter and staff prepared a presentation for the Commission to review highlight’s of next year’s planned activities including a proposed $20.1 Million in capital projects across Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission’s Port Bienville Industrial Park and Stennis International Airport and Airpark.
“We've seen phenomenal growth of our organization and assets over the last few years, and we do not anticipate this year to be any different” Cotter said. “Our goal continues to be to support the growth of Hancock County through increased jobs and tax revenues for our community. To help achieve this goal, we support our tenants by ensuring their needs are met as our customers”.
Some of the highlighted capital improvements planned for The Port & Harbor Commission include Stennis International Airport’s recent announcement of the $2.77 Million apron expansion to support tenant ramp space as well as new hangar space to increase capacity for growth.
Capital improvements planned for Port Bienville Industrial Park and Railroad include a new $6.2 Million transload facility enabling Port Bienville to combine economical rail service with the flexibility of over-the-road trucking. In short, the transload facility will allow Port Bienville to serve tenants in a less costly fashion, ultimately reducing transportation costs and increasing volumes.
“We are excited to break ground on the transload facility project this year, which will increase shipping capacity and modalities for our industrial partners,” said Janel Carothers, Chief Development Officer for Port & Harbor. “Drawing on the long-haul capabilities of the railroad, paired with regional market access of barge and trucking, this investment solidifies Port Bienville as a logistics hub within the region”.
Staff begins work on the next fiscal year’s budget every year in July and presents the next year’s budget prior to year-end, typically in September. The preparation and planning put into this process each year outlines a comprehensive strategy for staff to utilize over the next year as a professional guideline.
Port & Harbor has received the Government Finance Officer’s Association (GFOA) Distinguished Budget Award every year from 2016 – 2019 which recognize budget documents of local governments that meet the highest quality of criteria, including policy, financial planning, operations, and communication.
For a complete overview of Port & Harbor’s Capital Improvement Plan for FY21, see the FY2021 Operating & Capital Budget document, Port & Harbor’s award-winning annual budget.
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About HCPHC
The Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission was established in 1963 to lead the county’s economic development activities. Stennis International Airport and Port Bienville Industrial Park are home to 30 companies with more than 1,000 employees. For more information visit www.portairspace.com