Georgia ports officials lose some club perks

ATLANTA - The Georgia Ports Authority will lose its privileges at some of Savannah&#39;s private clubs, officials said Thursday. <br> <br> The state agency will cut 34 of its 38 private club memberships assigned to staffers at a cost of nearly $60,000 a year, according to a letter sent to Gov. Roy Barnes from authority chairman Keith Mason. <br> <br> The Ports Authority dropped the private clubs less than a month after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on travel and entertainment expenses, and club memberships for executives and sales staff at the Savannah-based agency. <br> <br> The number of private club memberships already had been cut from 43 last year. Until recently, the authority&#39;s executive director Doug Marchand held memberships in seven exclusive clubs on the coast, four for golfing and three for dining. <br> <br> ``To confirm that Georgia&#39;s ports are working to their maximum efficiency and moving in the right strategic direction, I am asking that your administration direct a performance audit and strategic review of GPA&#39;s strategic direction,&#39;&#39; the letter said. <br> <br> Bill Tomlinson, a Ports Authority board member and state Office of Planning and Budget director, has been asked to hire an outside firm to conduct the study. <br> <br> The Georgia Ports Authority, created in 1945, operates ocean and inland river ports within the state, including the ports of Savannah and Brunswick, and the Bainbridge and Columbus barge terminals. It brings $1.8 billion to the state, according to the agency. <br> <br> Marchand, who was paid $252,288 last year, said Thursday he doesn&#39;t know which private dining and golf club memberships will be retained. Mason&#39;s letter to Barnes said one of each type will be kept in Savannah and near the Brunswick port, but they will be held as corporate memberships not assigned to individual staff members. <br> <br> Trimming club memberships to four would still give Georgia officials more club options than the top ports official at Charleston, S.C., Savannah&#39;s top competitor, which pays for memberships at one golf course and one dining club. <br> <br> Changes in the Georgia authority&#39;s travel and entertainment policy could come later this month when the 13-member board meets in Brunswick. <br> <br> Marchand and Ports Authority supporters say the travel and entertainment expenses are a necessary cost of attracting new shippers.