Port Everglades leaders present FY‑26 budget, outline $100M reserve for deepening and bond plan

Port Everglades officials presented a recommended FY‑26 budget to the Broward County Board of County Commissioners and outlined a multi‑year capital program that includes a $100 million reserve for the port’s deepening and widening project.

The presentation, delivered by Joe Morris, director of Port Everglades, emphasized recent throughput gains: "we had our record breaking cruise throughput in terms of passenger activity," Morris said, and noted more than 1,100,000 TEUs of container cargo in calendar 2024 and a strong energy throughput year. Morris said the port’s updated economic impact study showed fiscal‑year 2024 economic impact rising from about $26.5 billion to $28.1 billion and local jobs up about 13.9 percent.

Morris described a recommended FY‑26 operating budget that increases top‑line revenue by roughly $12 million (about 5.5 percent) compared with the prior year and a proposed $6 million increase in operating expenses. He noted the port’s "big three" business lines—cruise, cargo and energy—account for roughly 80 percent of revenues and will remain the primary drivers.

Port staff said most line items are above forecast while a smaller, cyclical category called "lay‑in" is projected to decline about 33 percent from a high FY‑24…