By Moneth G. Deposa
Variety News Staff

THE Commonwealth Ports Authority will no longer automatically renew the contracts of consultants, according to CPA Executive Director Clyde K. Norita.
“A majority of the contracts we have at CPA are subject to automatic renewal every year which we find is not beneficial to the agency,” he said. “We are working on changing the language of contracts and setting a uniform format that would give us more leverage in the way we work with our consultants.”
CPA pays approximately $2.5 million annually to its consultants.
CPA, Norita said, now prefers hourly rates or per-project agreements with contractors and consultants.
On Jan. 10, CPA issued a 60-day notice of termination of contract to its consultant and former executive director, Carlos Salas.
He has until March 10 to accept the new rate offer, Norita said.
“Sixty days is too long…we can have it in two weeks and that’s one of the issues we are going to address in connection with the new contract,” he said.
Salas retired in Dec. 2005 to take advantage of the 30 percent bonus. He was then hired by CPA as a consultant for $6,600 a month, or $79,200 annually.
“We need to have a new contract with Mr. Salas. CPA is offering a new rate which is far lower than what he’s making and it is up to him if he now accepts or not,” Norita said. “We served him a termination notice because his contract was subject to automatic renewal,” he added.
He said the new contract will clearly specify that CPA has the option to immediately terminate it for a cause.
“At the end of the year, we will review the consultant’s performance to determine if the contract is worth continuing,” Norita said.
He added that because the lease terms of several of its tenants are also up for renewal, CPA will address delinquency and environmental concerns in the lease agreements.