The Port of Benton is working to correct a roughly $1.14 million deficit in its 2026 budget after a financial review uncovered several discrepancies in budget documents approved last fall. 

It’s the latest development in a turbulent stretch for the Richland-based public agency that has included leadership upheaval, a fired finance director, an executive director on paid leave, and an ongoing recall effort against all three commissioners. 

Errors found in the 2026 budget include loan proceeds associated with the Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) that were overstated by $1.9 million; the 2025 budget carryover was overstated by $300,000; and property tax revenue was overstated by $680,346. Beginning cash was understated by $1.7 million.  

The budget errors came to light after Stuart Dezember returned to the port in April as director of finance, stepping into a role that had been vacated when the commission voted in February to fire Alicia Myers, who had been hired just three months earlier. Dezember previously served as director of finance for more than 15 years, from 2003 to 2020. 

“We take this issue very seriously and are moving quickly to correct it,” Dezember said in a statement. He is leading a budget revision that will be presented to the commission at a future public meeting. The revision will take corrective measures such as pausing and reprioritizing capital projects and realigning grant-funded expenses with revised project timelines.  

“The port’s focus is on ensuring accurate financial reporting and maintaining the public’s trust through transparency and responsible decision-making,” Dezember said in the statement.  

The 2026 budget was adopted Nov. 12, 2025, and presented as balanced at the time, with a net surplus of $185,746. 

The budget process included one-on-one meetings with commissioners in September 2025 and a special workshop meeting in October 2025 to go over the proposed budget, according to commission meetings from those months. The budget was released for public review in October before being passed in November.  

Jeff Lubeck was the port’s finance director at the time the budget was developed and passed. He retired at the end of 2025, according to a Nov. 12 commission meeting. 

A Dec. 15 press release on the 2026 budget quoted Lubeck as saying, “This balanced budget reflects our ongoing commitment to fiscal responsibility and delivering value to the taxpayers of our district.”