Steamship Authority general manager Robert Davis has received a 4 per cent salary increase, retroactive to July 1, following his annual performance review by the boat line board of governors Tuesday.
Mr. Davis previously earned a $207,500 annual salary, under the terms of a three-year contract that began in June, 2022.
Since his promotion to general manager in 2017, Mr. Davis has routinely won high marks on his annual evaluation, with overall scores in the 80s and 90s from both the governing board and its advisory port council.
This year, however, was different.
Mr. Davis earned a score of just 65 out of 100 from Martha’s Vineyard governor James Malkin, who said Tuesday that he wants the general manager to delegate more authority to chief operating officer Mark Higgins and other boat line personnel hired in recent years.
“Mr. Davis is a dedicated, extremely hardworking and very, very knowledgeable individual, [but] too involved in too many parts of the operation,” Mr. Malkin said.
“The Steamship Authority is much better served if the general manager leaves the day to day operations in the hands of our new C.O.O. and the marine and landside operating staff, and devotes his attention … to institutional and organizational issues that I find retard our effectiveness,” he said.
Mr. Malkin said he’d like to see Mr. Davis improve interdepartmental communication, engagement with the traveling public and the boat line’s relationship with its state and federal legislators.
Falmouth governor Peter Jeffrey gave Mr. Davis a failing grade of 53 on his evaluation, which was read out loud Tuesday by human resources director Janice Kennefick because Mr. Jeffrey was not present for the hybrid meeting held on Nantucket.
Among the areas in which he felt Mr. Davis’s performance fell short in 2022-2023, Mr. Jeffrey cited the boat line’s unsuccessful request for proposals to operate freight service from New Bedford and the striking mismatch between the estimated and actual costs of converting offshore service vessels to freight ferries.
Mr. Davis earned higher marks from the other three governors on the board.
Maura Tierney of New Bedford, who also missed Tuesday’s meeting, gave him a score of 85, Ms. Kennefick said.
Barnstable governor Robert Jones gave Mr. Davis a grade of 88 and Robert Ranney of Nantucket graded him 95.
“On the Nantucket side, I think we are a little more forgiving,” Mr. Ranney said.
“We do realize we are out here in the middle of the ocean,” he said.
“On the Vineyard, I think there is an expectation … because you are so close, [that] when something happens, it throws everything out of whack,” Mr. Ranney added.
Among other business Tuesday, the Steamship Authority board of governors reviewed the draft $137.6 million operating budget for 2024, which includes seasonal fare increases for standard-fare automobiles on both routes.
Online public information sessions on the budget are scheduled for Sept. 26 at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
The board is expected to vote on the budget at its next public meeting, Oct. 24 at 10:30 a.m. in the Oak Bluffs library meeting room.
Also Tuesday, the board of governors agreed in principle to allow the Seastreak fast ferry to operate twice-daily commuter trips between New Bedford and Vineyard Haven while the Hy-line is out of service after Columbus Day.
Both ferry services are Steamship Authority licensees that pay a fee per ticket for carrying passengers to and from the Islands.
Seastreak vice-president James Barker said the high-speed catamaran would operate two trips a day, seven days a week from Oct. 10 through Dec. 31 and five days a week from Jan. 1 through mid-April, 2024.
“We think there is enough demand for it,” said Mr. Barker, who joined the meeting remotely.
Steamship Authority general counsel Terrence Kenneally told the board the boat line is still working out scheduling details with Seastreak to rule out potential conflicts.
“We don’t want that much congestion in Vineyard Haven harbor,” Mr. Kenneally said.
