Port Authority Executive Director Carlton Dowe assured members of the Senate Committee on Budget, Appropriations, and Finance that the territory’s airports were not being privatized.
However, that might be hard for Port Authority aviation employees who are told they can no longer be part of the Government Employees’ Retirement System to understand. Dowe said that the airport employees would now be employed by a private firm and, therefore, could not legally be part of GERS.
Dowe said that SkyCity, the firm the Port Authority contracted with in March to take over the airports’ operations, would be making an offer to all Port Authority employees, some of whom have expressed an interest in remaining in GERS.
Sens. Donna Frett-Gregory and Ray Fonseca raised concerns Wednesday about what that could mean for employees. Dowe said the offer would include “some kind of retirement plan.” He mentioned a 401(k). In a 401(k), an employee puts a certain amount in savings, and the employer matches a portion.
Fonseca pointed out that an employee pulling out of GERS loses all the money the government put into their account. This amount could be a $40,000 or $50,000 loss for an employee working eight or nine years for the government. Frett-Gregory wanted to know what would happen to airport employees who did not accept SkyCity’s offer.
Dowe said the Port Authority had vacancies in its other divisions, so no employee would be left without a job. Frett-Gregory wondered out loud how employees in the Port Authority could be absorbed in the marine division but said that discussion was for another meeting.
VIPA has 78 aviation employees and a total of 329 employees territory-wide.
Dowe testified that the partnership with SkyCity would result in a completely new terminal at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix, and the Cyril E. King Airport terminal on St. Thomas would go through a complete renovation.
This project will be completed in five years and bring state-of-the-art amenities, including upgrading the baggage systems and jet bridges and adding seating and concession areas.
The agreement terms should be completed by the second quarter of next year.
In his financial overview to the committee, he said the budget for next year was $199 million, down from $246 million the previous year. The decrease was attributed to fewer capital projects.
Frett-Gregory asked that the Port Authority consult with the Department of Planning and Natural Resources before selling any beach-quality sand extracted from St. Thomas harbor dredging. She said beaches near Frederiksted and other public beaches could use it. Dowe said cruise ship visitors to St. Croix were going from 40,000 three years ago to 275,000 next year. He noted an uptick in stops by Royal Caribbean was a big part of the increase.
According to Dowe, the good news on the aviation side was the return of daily JetBlue flights to St. Croix in December.
In response to a report concerning preliminary planning for a community park in Cruz Bay, Frett-Gregory said the Port Authority should be aware that the Senate had appropriated $10 million to the authority for that park.
