Port of San Diego BAE Systems

At the Port of San Diego, Navy ship repairer BAE Systems was told it would cost $30,000 in port approval fees for a project that was only going to cost $50,000.

Amid budget problems last June, the Port of San Diego decided to impose fees to cover staff time spent processing paperwork and issuing approvals for new developments, improvement projects and lease negotiations.

The agency is charging up to $300 an hour or more for some staffers’ time, including salary, benefits and an apportionment of port overhead costs.

The fees are more far-reaching than those at other ports in the state, according to an agency consultant. San Diego budgeted $1.5 million of revenue per year from such fees, compared to $100,000 typically collected for similar services at the Oakland port.

Navy ship repairer BAE Systems was told it would cost $30,000 in port approval fees for a project that was only going to cost $50,000.

More at the San Diego Union-Tribune