Answers to some of the most commonly asked questions are provided below. Please feel free to contact us for additional information.

Is the Port Authority a government agency?
The Port Authority is a government agency authorized under state code and created by the city and county. The port authority has the responsibilities of a public agency, including holding public meetings and making its records available for public inspection.

Does the Port Authority fall under the governance of the city or Cuyahoga County government?
No. The Port Authority is an independent agency of government. The Port Authority is similar to the Regional Transit Authority in Cleveland and is responsible for its own operations.

Does the Port Authority oversee the airport? Are the Department of Port Control and the Port Authority the same agencies?
Unlike port authorities in Toledo and Columbus, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority does not manage airports. The city of Cleveland's department of port control manages the airports. The name “port control” was developed under the city charter when the city managed the airports and seaports. Maritime/seaport operations were transferred to the Port Authority in 1968.

Is U.S. Customs under the jurisdiction of the Port Authority?
Customs is a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. While the Port Authority works closely with Customs to notify them when overseas cargo and ships arrive, Customs is an independent authority.

How does the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority finance capital improvements at the Port Authority?
Every five years, the port authority goes before the voters of Cuyahoga County for a maritime levy. The levy is for .13 mills and brings tax revenues of about $3.2 million per year to the Port Authority or $16 million during the five-year period.

When did the last levy pass?
It was passed in November 2007 with 64 percent of the vote.

Does the Port Authority own ships? Does the Port Authority employ the workforce to unload incoming ships?
The Port Authority does not own any ships, nor does the Port Authority employ the workforce that loads and unloads ships. The Port Authority contracts with private companies to load and unload the ships, and the ships are owned by private companies that supply raw materials or semi-finished products to industries in Northeast Ohio.

How many ships come into the Port Authority over a shipping season?
The number varies each year, but 959 ships visited the Port Authority in 2006.

What types of cargo does the Port Authority handle?
The Port Authority primarily imports bulk and semi-finished products and machinery. Bulk cargo consists of iron ore, stone, cement and salt. Semi-finished products and machinery include various forms of steel produced in other countries and machinery, particularly for the automotive industry. Each year, between 13 million tons and 15 million tons of cargo enter and leave the Port Authority.

What is the depth of the water in North Coast Harbor? What is the depth of the water at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River’s mouth?
North Coast Harbor was designed as a harbor of refuge for recreational boaters, and the water depths are 7.0 feet at low water datum throughout most of the harbor. The area where the Goodtime III excursion ship berths is dredged to 8.0 at LWD.

The federal channel at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River is maintained at a depth of -27.0 LWP. South of the Old River bed, the river is dredged to -23.0 LWD. NOTE: These are design depths only, and the port cannot guarantee their accuracy.

What is low water datum?
Low water datum is a height above sea level used to measure water depth. All ports on Lake Erie use a LWD of 568.6 feet above sea level. This provides a constant reference point when using depths shown on a chart. Each lake has a different LWD. Water levels can change hourly due to winds, atmospheric pressure or rainfall and usually vary from +3.0 to -3.0 LWD.

How does the Port Authority participate in the redevelopment of Cleveland?
Through the movement of cargo in and out of the Port Authority, maritime activities support 11,000 manufacturing jobs, $570 million in personal incomes, $882 million in business revenues and $200 million in local, state and federal taxes.

The Development Finance Group has taken the port authority’s ability to finance projects on the waterfront and made them available on a much wider scale. Since 1993, the Port Authority has helped to finance projects in excess of $800 million in Cleveland and its surrounding communities.

How does the Port Authority inform the public of new projects and activities?
All Port Authority projects and activities are discussed during committee meetings and board meetings, which are open to the public. The Port Authority's Web site is another good source of information on the latest port projects and financings. The "News" section contains an archive of all Port Authority news releases and outlines the latest actions by our board. A complete listing of projects is in the Development Finance section of the Web site.

How is the public made aware of committee and board meetings?
A complete list of meetings is posted on our Web site.

Are there other ways to learn about pending Port Authority projects?
The Port Authority meets with many potential clients regarding our financing products. We are very careful to take to the board only those projects which have the highest probability of transpiring. It would not be informative to list the many companies seeking port financing, and it could also compromise a private company's proprietary information. Potential transactions are reviewed by the Committee for Regional Economic Advance before being considered by the entire board. Both processes are open to the public. Additional information may be available under the Ohio Public Records Act.

Does the Port Authority use tax dollars used to finance projects outside of Cuyahoga County?
No tax dollars are ever used to finance projects either inside or outside of Cuyahoga County.

How does Cuyahoga County benefit when the Port Authority finances projects in other counties?
We live in a metropolitan region and the Port Authority board believes that county and city political boundaries should not be viewed as economic boundaries. Political jurisdictions are meant to define boundaries for the delivery of police, fire, justice system and human services. In the economic world, people live and work in different cities and counties. A project for the metropolitan area must be viewed as for the good of all. Just as with projects within Cuyahoga County, the borrower pays fees to the Port Authority to cover the Port Authority's operating costs and to make a contribution to our capital reserve fund.