WASHINGTON: That was the gist of the Virginia Port Authority board’s assessment of how well John Reinhart, the port’s executive director and CEO, did last year. The first order of business at the board’s first meeting of 2017 was to review Reinhart’s compensation package. His five-year contract, which began three years ago, provides a base pay of $450,000 a year and the chance to get up to half that amount as a bonus if he hits certain metrics. In roughly six minutes, followed by a flurry of accolades, the port’s board agreed to award Reinhart every penny of the $225,000 in incentive pay for which he was eligible .
“This is the finest year the port has had, in my experience,” said John Milliken, the board’s chairman, adding that his dealings with the port go back more than 25 years. “We are on a good trajectory for the future; we have the finances under control and a plan for long-term growth; and that is significantly attributable to the work of John Reinhart.” Last year was a transitional year for the port, in many ways. The General Assembly OK’d an unprecedented, state-backed $350 million bond deal that will fund the expansion of Norfolk International Terminals, the port’s biggest facility. In tandem with that deal, the port signed a nearly 50-year capital lease of Virginia International Gateway in Portsmouth, its second-largest container terminal, which provides for a $320 million build-out to be financed upfront by the owner of the facility. On top of all that, the finances continue to improve, Milliken said.
