Is it time for Port to give back?

Great news! A local government agency is flush with money. So flush it is taking the unheard-of step of returning some tax dollars to your pockets.

OK, I made up that second part. The part about you getting any money. But the first part is true. I learned it by reading a triumphant four-page advertisement in my Sunday paper, placed by that mysterious gang that runs the Port of Seattle.

It has been a cruel spring for the Port, publicity-wise. All perks and sweetheart payouts, ginned up in secret meetings.

So here was a different story. The ad looked sort of like a section of the newspaper. Except it was a masterpiece of puffery, with headlines such as "Performance Strong, Outlook Favorable," and "Generating Income in Many Ways."

I got a slew of e-mails about it. Few things irritate folks like government tooting its horn at taxpayer expense (even, apparently, when the money goes to a truly needy recipient such as The Seattle Times).

One citizen, John Abel, 79, of Magnolia, did something wholly unexpected with the promo job. He read it.

And he noticed a key detail that escaped me. Turns out the Port made a profit last year of $85 million.

Holy cow, Abel said. If they're doing so well, why do they still collect taxes from us?

Good question. Five years ago, the Port was a break-even outfit, netting only $1.5 million on all the Sea-Tac plane traffic and cargo fees at the seaport.

Business has boomed since. Revenue is up 46 percent. And operating profit is up more than 5,000 percent!

That's not bad for government. Maybe the Port deserves a toot of its own horn.

But here's what rankles Abel: In that same period, the Port's property-tax haul has soared by 58 percent. (This wasn't mentioned in the ad — I had to look it up.) Last year it raked in $63 million from King County homeowners. This year it will be $69 million.

It's taking more and more in taxes, despite its rising profits (which are tallied separately and don't include tax receipts).

"In the old days, they said they had to have the taxes because they were struggling," Abel said. "What's the reasoning now?"

I called a couple of the Port commissioners. The Port says it still needs all the money. It is plowing it into projects at the airport, such as the third runway, and on the waterfront.

We do need a strong Port. But it seems like we could have that and some tax relief, too.

Example: Last year's budget forecast a profit of $55 million. Yet the Port made $85 million. How about sending a bit of the gravy back to the people?

Cutting the Port tax by only that $30 million extra is enough to pay for both parks levies that voters are being asked to fund in August. With some left over to help pay for the emergency-services levy voters will be asked to approve in November.

Some ports return some profits to the public. Not ours. Ours spends it all, plus soaks up still more taxes.

I'm guessing giving you money back would do a lot more for the Port's image than putting an ad in the paper.

Danny Westneat's column appears Wednesday and Sunday. Reach him at 206-464-2086 or dwestneat@seattletimes.com.