San Mateo County Harbor District scopes investment options | Local News

The Santa Cruz Port District’s decision to invest its revenue with California CLASS — a joint powers authority investment pool for public agencies — resulted in an additional $50,000 a month in interest income, offsetting its $75,000 a month revenue loss due to the salmon season closure, California Special Districts Money Matters publication said.

“The article in the CSDA, in my opinion, was more of an ad for California CLASS than really an article on salmon season,” Pruett said. “[It’s about] how California CLASS was able to get them more money, which is great for them, but it didn’t give us any solutions for counteracting the loss of the salmon season for our salmon fishermen or our fish buyers.”

The two entities also have different revenue streams, Pruett said, and the San Mateo County Harbor District was less affected by the loss of salmon season than the Santa Cruz Port District because it receives property tax revenue.

Along with having less “slips” — payments made by boat owners to dock their vessel at a location in the marina — Santa Cruz Port District only receives revenue from user fees, like patronage at restaurants and harbor usage costs, all of which were severely affected by the salmon season closure.

Commissioner Kathryn Slater-Carter acknowledged the importance of property tax revenue streams for the Harbor District.

“This is a perfect example of how our tax dollars are used to protect this district,” she said. “The Santa Cruz Port District doesn’t have property tax dollars. Our ability to fill our mission … is substantially driven by the fact that we are a countywide property tax supported district.”

Commissioner Virginia Chang Kelly advocated for the district to continue investing in low-risk investments with high returns to best serve their constituency.

Staff is continuing to look at investment funds for the district, Pruett said.

“We’re always investigating ways to increase our revenues to benefit the district,” he said.