Port of Vancouver cuts budget by 18 percent

VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — The Port of Vancouver has slashed its budget by 18 percent, with most of the loss coming from removing revenue projections from its dedicated rail program.

The Vancouver Columbian reports (http://bit.ly/1LWEFkI ) that commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt a supplemental budget of $80.72 million, compared to the $98.19 million budget approved in November 2014.

Most of the decrease came by taking $15.29 million in expected revenue from the ports rail service program off the books. Under the program, the port hoped to lease rail cars to haul oil-drilling material to North Dakota and then return to Vancouver with Midwestern crops for export overseas.