Still, the governor and his staff said the authority can do more to improve its bottom line, including selling assets that have little to do with running public shipping terminals and using the proceeds on projects that meet that mission.

The authority is largely self-sufficient and only receives state budget money for harbor deepening projects.

"I think you all did a great job," Sanford said.

Last summer, Sanford's meeting with port officials painted a picture of a bloated, overstaffed agency that clung to unprofitable assets. "It seemed things had gotten a little out of whack," he said Thursday.

The authority has acted on several ideas that grew out of last year's meeting, including:

-- Supporting legislation to close the agency's faltering Port Royal terminal. In September, Sanford signed a bill that does just that. The authority no longer is seeking cargo for the terminal, but it still must honor existing contracts there before shutting the gates for good.

-- Moving ahead with efforts to sell excess land holdings on Daniel Island, where the SPA has abandoned plans to build a container terminal. The money could help pay for a proposed new terminal at the former Charleston Naval Base.

SPA President and CEO Bernard Groseclose Jr. said the authority is planning to sell the land and will release details in coming months.

-- Paring administrative costs. The authority will save about $2 million next year by reducing administrative and operating costs, Groseclose said. The savings were realized in part by leaving vacant positions unfilled, capitalizing on early voluntary retirements and trimming marketing efforts.

But Sanford also sent authority officials away with homework. Specifically, he questioned whether operating public parking facilities fits the SPA's mission to foster waterborne commerce.

The SPA rents about 350 parking spaces near its Union Pier terminal. The parking operation is more profitable than some of the authority's breakbulk cargo business and indirectly benefits the agency's core business, Groseclose said.

The governor's staff also took the SPA to task for a recently enacted policy regarding public records requests. In response, Groseclose said the agency would continue to accept requests made under the state's Freedom Of Information Act via e-mail despite a recent announcement to the contrary.

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