JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After less than two years on the job, JaxPort CEO Paul Anderson is in negotiations to take a similar job with the Tampa Port Authority.
Tampa's board voted unanimously Tuesday to offer Anderson the job of port director and authorized an attorney to work out a salary and benefits with Anderson. Tampa port officials hope a contract with Anderson can be confirmed at a December board meeting and he will begin the job in January.
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But JaxPort officials say Anderson is still on the job, and will remain so until he resigns.
"We do understand he is in negotiations to take the same position down in Tampa, and the chairman has wished him luck in that process," JaxPort spokeswoman Nancy Rubin said Wednesday.
Anderson's potential departure from the port -- which generates a $19 million annual impact for Jacksonville -- drew reaction from City Hall.
"Obviously it would be a blow," said city communications director David DeCamp. "Mayor (Alvin) Brown really appreciates what Paul Anderson has done for the port and for economic development in Jacksonville."
According to the Jacksonville Business Journal, Tampa didn't recruit Anderson for the job -- he applied.
In September, the JaxPort board of directors approved a 5 percent pay raise and $50,000 bonus for Anderson, but he asked that the raise be tabled after some members of the City Council complained about the raise.
The raise would have bumped Anderson's salary from $320,000 to $336,000.
The last CEO at Tampa's port earned $285,000, but its board chairman, William Brown, said the authority is willing to pay more to have Anderson at the helm.