The Oakland Board of Port Commissioners last week adopted a 2011-2012 fiscal year operating budget of $296.6 million, a 1.8 percent increase over anticipated fiscal year 2011 actuals and a 5 percent increase over the current fiscal 2011 budget, which was focused on stabilizing the port after the Great Recession.
“We remain cautiously optimistic that the coming year will bring continued modest economic recovery,” says Omar Benjamin, port executive director. “We therefore need to move strategically from stabilizing the port, to marketing and growing the port’s business. That’s why this year we are going to enhance the port’s export program, capitalizing on our position as the only major West Coast port that exports more than we import, continue bringing new air service to Oakland International, move forward on the transformation of the former Oakland Army Base into a world-class intermodal trade and logistics center, and continue promoting the development and utilization of our waterfront assets at Jack London Square.”