Port of Entry advisory committee supports creation of Port Authority, seeks clarity on funding and toll increases

The Port of Entry Advisory Committee voted Jan. 15 to endorse forming a Port Authority for Laredo but asked city staff and council for legal documents and a detailed funding plan before supporting any increase in bridge tolls.

Committee members said a Port Authority could give the city new tools to pursue state and federal funding and to manage port-related projects, but several members warned that shifting control of bridge revenues could change which projects get priority.

During more than two hours of discussion, members described two planned bridge expansion projects (Colombia and World Trade Bridge) that committee members said could approach $200 million combined, and repeatedly urged that any toll revenue increases be tied to a transparent, written plan showing how funds would be spent. “It’s not that simple to just… wake up on a Wednesday and say it’s $3 more,” said Gerardo Maldonado, a trucking company owner and industry representative, describing contract constraints on carriers and the need for phased, transparent increases.

Several members said state statute and existing Texas water-port authority law would determine how a Port Authority could be formed and funded. Committee members repeatedly said the sequence should be: adopt Port Authority enabling language and formation documents, then specify what percentage (if any) of bridge toll revenues would flow to that authority, and only after that consider toll rate changes.

The committee voted in favor of supporting formation of a Port Authority, and members asked staff and legal counsel to provide the committee with the proposed formation/operating document, the legal basis for revenue allocation, and a clear funding plan before any tolls are increased. The advisory board’s vote is nonbinding: the committee’s role is to advise city council, which must adopt any enabling ordinance or funding action.

Committee members also asked for greater involvement by industry and finance staff in drafting any revenue-use plan and recommended that any proposed toll schedule be presented to the trade community in a phased, black‑and‑white timeline so carriers can factor increases into contracts.

What the committee did: a motion was made and put to a show‑of‑hands vote on whether the advisory board supports creation of a Port Authority. By a show of hands the board recorded majority support for forming a Port Authority and requested additional legal and financial clarifications before it would consider recommending any bridge toll increases.

The committee did not approve any toll increase at the meeting. Members said they will prepare a written recommendation and seek the Port Authority formation documents and a funding breakdown from city staff and legal counsel prior to next council consideration.