
Funding Opportunities and Financing
MCAS Discussion Draft March 2021
Port of San Diego Annual Budget Process
The Port is self-funded, relying primarily on revenues from maritime operations and lease agreements to
fund priority projects and initiatives. The Port reinvests the revenues into the Tidelands and into public
services such as public safety, as well as public amenities, including roads, sidewalks, parks, promenades,
public piers, and public art. The Port also participates in public-public and public-private partnerships to
bring funding and potential reinvestment to Tidelands for the benefit of present and future generations.
The Port prepares a budget every fiscal year (July 1
st
through June 30
th
) to fund personnel and non-
personnel expenses. The budget document establishes a one-year financial plan to fulfill the Port's
statutory mission, support the Port's role as trustee of State Tidelands, and achieve its strategic goals. The
budget is also a disclosure document providing transparency on Port operations. According to Section 4 of
the Port Act, the Port is responsible for the development, operation, maintenance, control, regulation, and
management of Tidelands and for the promotion of commerce, the environment, fisheries, navigation, and
recreation. Without financial sustainability, the Port would not be able to accomplish these mandates.
As mentioned earlier, revenues generated on Tidelands are reinvested to support public services and
amenities. Some of these revenues may be used to fund air quality improvement projects and other
environmental initiatives. The Port has a variety of funding mechanisms, each of which has specific
requirements and is ultimately subject to Board discretion.
Sources of Funding
Internal Funding
In conjunction with the budget process outlined above, the Port has several tools to reinvest its revenues
into public benefit projects, which includes investments that result in improved air quality. However, plans,
studies, and other entitlement work oftentimes is needed in advance of executing a project. This section
provides a high-level overview of the project development process, and highlights some of the key funding
mechanisms the Port has used to fund air quality-related projects and studies.
Funds for project planning, business case development, engineering, and permitting to develop shovel-
ready projects requires complete plans for locations of utilities or charging infrastructure, complete
environmental review, a robust business case analysis, and partnerships with the organizations that will
purchase, test and operate equipment purchased with the grant funds. Developing these plans and
partnerships requires funding prior to purchasing, installing, and/or constructing the project. In many
instances, the planning, design, and environmental review requires significant funding of its own, and may
take a year or more to complete. Often times it is necessary to pay for the planning, design, environmental
analysis, and/or permitting one or two years in advance of a grant solicitation, so the project can be “shovel
ready” and the Port’s grant application can be competitive
1
. Some of the current programs that the Port has
at its disposal to fund clean air initiatives are summarized below.
1
While most grant programs are for project deployment and/or infrastructure upgrades, there are some programs that
provide money for planning and entitlements. For example, in November 2020, SANDAG partnered with the Port of San
Diego, the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), North County Transit District (NCTD) and the County of San Diego to apply
for a $200,000 Medium / Heavy Duty ZEV Infrastructure Blueprint Planning Grant.