NEW YORK - The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey sees consolidated debt issuance of $1.2 bln in 2016 compared with $1.5 bln this year, according to its $7.9 billion 2016 budget released on Monday. Although next year’s debt issuance represents a decline from this year, the Port Authority has access to an additional $1.2 billion from the unspent proceeds of previous bond issuance. The issuance figure does not include refunding. With refunding the actual amount of debt issued in 2015 was $3.3 billion, the Port Authority said. A total of $3.5 billion of the 2016 budget will fund capital spending, a decrease of 3.4 percent compared with 2015. Operating expenses are seen rising 2.8 percent to just over $3 billion. “This is a fiscally responsible budget that provides us the resources to plan for future growth at our airports, in trans-Hudson travel and in cargo growth at our seaports,” said Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye.