Quoted Text

Thruway: Tough road ahead might increase tolls
  
By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press
Monday, September 24, 2007

ALBANY -- Toll increases could approach 20 percent over four years and E-ZPass discounts could evaporate as the state Thruway Authority deals with slower-than-expected traffic growth on the highway due to rising fuel costs, officials said Monday.
  
Most passenger and commercial drivers could see annual toll increases of under 5 percent phased in between 2008 and 2011. But larger increases are possible in discount zones -- including those near Grand Island, New Rochelle and the Tappan Zee Bridge -- and for users of annual passes for frequent short trips such as between Amsterdam and Albany.

"We're really looking at a menu," said Thruway Authority Executive Director Michael R. Fleischer. "If you do more in one place, you can do less in another."

He said the increases could be scaled back or avoided if revenues from increased traffic rises higher than projected.

The most recent Thruway toll increases were in 2005, the first in 17 years for the highway that runs from New York City to Buffalo. That effort caused an uproar led by the trucking industry.

Back then, the authority -- legally a separate entity from state government -- raised tolls by 25 percent for passenger vehicles and by 35 percent for commercial vehicles. That change included a 10 percent discount if a passenger car used the E-ZPass electronic toll system and a 5 percent discount for commercial drivers using E-ZPass.

In January 2008, the last piece of that increase takes effect: Tolls paid in cash will be increased 10 percent. That will raise the current maximum toll of $15.15 for a passenger car from Woodbury to Williamsville to $16.70.

The Thruway Authority board could back the proposal to further increase tolls at its November meeting. The proposal would go to public hearings then voted on late this year or in early 2008.

"We are naturally concerned about toll increases and have been working with the Thruway Authority as they evaluate the financial viability of various options," said Christine Anderson, spokesman for Gov. Eliot Spitzer. "The Authority has a responsibility to its bond holders as well as a responsibility to close out year budget gaps so that a balanced budget can be maintained."

Fleischer said the 2008 budget for the authority is balanced, but it now projects a deficit of $75 million to $80 million a year. Its annual budget is about $1 billion.

Traffic, and thus revenue, is expected to grow by 1.2 percent next year, 1.5 percent in 2009 and by 2.2 percent in 2010 to 2011, Fleischer said. Traffic on the Thruway had been projected to grow at a faster rate.

"They have attributed it to the high gasoline prices and particularly the spiking of gasoline prices," he said.

Increasing tolls is a last resort, said Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, a Westchester Democrat and chairman of the chamber's authorities committee. "They are going to have to make a case."

Tolls on the Thruway were supposed to disappear in 1996, when the original bonds which financed construction were to have been paid off. But state officials abandoned that plan in the 1980s when they decided users of the superhighway should pay for its maintenance instead of all taxpayers.

The Thruway Authority has since taken on other obligations, such as operation of the state canal system.

Quoted Text

Toll increases could approach 20 percent over four years and E-ZPass discounts could evaporate as the state Thruway Authority deals with slower-than-expected traffic growth on the highway due to rising fuel costs, officials said Monday.

Quoted Text

The Thruway Authority has since taken on other obligations, such as operation of the state canal system.

Quoted Text

"We're really looking at a menu," said Thruway Authority Executive Director Michael R. Fleischer. "If you do more in one place, you can do less in another."

Quoted Text

EDITORIALS
Another Thruway toll hike is not the answer

   Holy toll-edo! Two years after the Thruway Authority raised tolls between 25 percent and 35 percent, its chief is floating the idea of another round of toll hikes — as much as 20 percent over four years starting next year! Not a great idea, to say the least.
   Thruway Executive Director Michael Fleischer blames higher gas prices for the drop in Thruway traffic over the past two years that, barring a reversal or toll hike, will produce operating deficits in the not-too-distant future. But hold on a minute: What about that big toll hike in 2005? Mightn’t that also be a reason for the drop? And wouldn’t another round of toll hikes cause traffic (and revenue) to fall even more?
   While a case can surely be made for having tolls, as opposed to general state revenues, support the 641-mile highway system, state officials have to be careful: If they raise tolls too much, the out-of-state truckers, tourists and others who use the road will look for alternative routes — and alternative places to do business. New York businesses that survive will have little choice but to absorb the higher costs or pass them along — also bad for business. Finally, the Thruway will have to raise tolls even more (on its remaining pool of users, mostly New Yorkers) to make ends meet. It’s a formula for economic trouble.
   The Authority needs to do a better job controlling costs. (Massachusetts managed to eliminate tolls on half its turnpike a decade ago, about the same time the Thruway’s bonds were paid off.) One way would be to encourage greater use of E-ZPass, the automated toll collection system, which would allow for personnel cuts. Unfortunately, Fleischer has indicated the E-ZPass discounts may be phased out in some areas.
   And a way for the state to counter the impact of rising gas prices would be to cut its motor fuel tax. That’s also been done in the Bay State, where gas prices are a full 25 cents per gallon less than in New York.
   What gives?  

Quoted from Shadow

How about that good old NYS is sticking it to us at the toll booths and at the gas pumps and they don't even say thank you for violating us.

Quoted Text

CAPITOL
Committee approves Thruway toll increase
BY MICHAEL GORMLEY The Associated Press

   The state Thruway Authority on Thursday moved toward further increasing tolls by 5 percent in 2009 and again in 2010.
   The increases, approved by a key committee Thursday, would be in addition to the 10 percent increase in cash rates that begins in January. Users of E-ZPass, the electronic toll collecting system, would see smaller increases.
   The cash rate for a car driving from New York City to Williamsville, just outside Buffalo, is now $15.15 on the half-century old superhighway. When fully implemented, the trip will cost $18.36 when paying in cash, or $17.58 if paid through E-ZPass.
   Authority officials said the increases are needed because spiking gas prices are limiting travel and that is cutting revenue needed for its $2.1 billion highway and bridge repair plan.
   “The plan is necessary to ensure that the Thruway can continue to make sound investments for safe, reliable transportation,” said Thruway Executive Director Michael Fleischer. “We think this is a prudent plan that’s needed to make sure the Thruway continues to serve its vital function.”
   The proposal will get a vote before the full authority board on Nov. 19 and could be the subject of public hearings in January and February. A final vote could be in March.
   The most recent Thruway toll increases were in 2005, the first in 17 years. That effort caused an uproar led by the trucking industry.
   That’s when the authority — a legally separate entity from state government created by the Legislature — raised tolls by 25 percent for passenger vehicles and 35 percent for commercial vehicles.
   The last phase of that increase will begin in January, when the maximum cash toll will rise to $16.70, from $15.15.
   Tolls on the Thruway were supposed to have disappeared in 1996, when the funding for the initial construction was to be paid. But state offi - cials in the 1980s decided to continue tolls, saying drivers, not all taxpayers, should maintain the highway.
   The Thruway Authority has since taken on other obligations, such as operation of the state canal system, Interstate 84 and the Cross Westchester Expressway.  

Quoted Text

Quoted Text

DiNapoli to audit Thruway Authority
11/16/2007 8:56 AM
By: Web Staff
  
ALBANY, N.Y. -- New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says he'll investigate if a proposed toll increase on the Thruway is really needed.

This comes after three upstate lawmakers called on DiNapoli to conduct an audit.

The Thruway Authority is proposing a 20-percent increase over the next three years to pay for a $2 billion improvement project.
  
The state comptroller will take a look at the Thruway Authority's books. Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli will audit the authority to determine if its proposed toll increase is necessary.

There are also reports two western New York lawmakers want to put the brakes on a perk which allows Thruway employees to drive for free when taking personal trips.

Quoted Text

CAPITOL
Thruway employees earned $8.7M in overtime
BY VALERIE BAUMAN The Associated Press

   The State Thruway Authority paid millions of dollars in overtime to its employees last year — nearly doubling some of their salaries.
   An analysis done by The Buffalo News found that 200 Thruway employees made more than $10,000 each in overtime.
   For example, an operator at the Tappan Zee Bridge nearly doubled his earnings when he received $32,317 in overtime, according to the paper. A toll collector in Albany earned $26,175 in overtime.
   The agency spent about $8.7 million on employee overtime in 2006 out of an approximately $762.2 million total budget, said Michael Fleischer, executive director of the Thruway Authority. The overtime amounts to only 1.1 percent of the overall budget, but some lawmakers are still upset about the amount of overtime paid out and a proposed toll increase.
   U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins of Buffalo said it’s a sign of mismanagement.
   “I’m all for fair and reasonable compensation, but when a public authority is abusing its autonomy we need to hold that public authority in check,” he said. “The best way to do that, at least initially, is to have greater oversight.”
   Thruway Authority officials are expected to vote on a package that recommends proceeding with a previously approved toll increase averaging 10 percent in January, followed by 5 percent increases in each of the following two years. The vote was temporarily postponed.
   State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is auditing the Thruway Authority to determine if the hike is essential.
   “It increases the cost of doing business,” he said. “It has an impact on commerce, it has an effect on people commuting.”
   DiNapoli said the overtime pay did not play into his decision to audit the agency.
   Fleischer said the agency’s overtime spending has been static since 1996. In the same period, the agency has eliminated 450 full-time staff positions.
   “Which, in context, I think shows the authority is managing its costs and the use of overtime,” Fleischer said. “We think the way we’re using it is more cost-efficient than hiring more personnel.”
   Officials said most of the overtime is spent on sending employees out to deal with snow and ice in the winter and dealing with accidents on the highway. Fleischer said it doesn’t make sense to hire more people for such sporadic needs.
   For example, the Tappan Zee “Bridge patrol operator’s overtime earnings amount to less than an added permanent bridge patrol operator’s year-round salary,” Authority spokeswoman Betsy Graham said.
   The 2008 agency projection doesn’t show a budget shortfall, but the authority will face future financial gaps — starting in 2009 — if tolls are not increased, Fleischer said.
   Fleischer said the Thruway Authority needs the toll hike to meet a previously proposed $2.6 billion capital improvements project. The Thruway’s last toll increase was May 2005.
   The problem is state traffic was projected to generate enough money in tolls with a 2.3 percent annual traffic growth. As gas prices have gone up, fewer people are traveling, and Fleischer said actual traffic growth was about .5 percent for 2007. That’s expected to go up to 1.3 percent in 2008 — but it’s still less than is needed, he said.
   “There are no free roads,” Fleischer said. “Roads do not plow themselves, they do not repair themselves.”

Quoted Text

Quoted Text

Not so fast, Thruway  
First published: Friday, November 23, 2007

That voice of sanity in the all-too predictable debate over whether to impose higher tolls on drivers who travel along the state Thruway belongs to state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
For once, here's a politician who can talk as loudly as he wants, for as long as he wants. Mr. DiNapoli is saying that the Thruway Authority should have to justify the 10 percent toll increase it plans to impose Jan 1. The radical thinking known as common sense, in other words.

"Before the Thruway Authority raises tolls and drives up costs for delivering everything from milk to lumber, my auditors are going to examine whether the toll hike is necessary," Mr. DiNapoli says.

That ought to have horns blaring in celebration from one end of the Thruway to the other.

Mr. DiNapoli is seconded by state Sen. Dale Volker, an Erie County Republican, who's sending sound and clear warnings of how higher Thruway tolls will hurt western New York.

The toll increase scheduled for Jan. 1 is nothing short of outrageous. It amounts, in essence, to a penalty on people who are trying to drive less on the Thruway and elsewhere.

Saving money on gasoline that soon enough could be $4 a gallon, or simply being a bit more environmentally conscious, is a big no-no -- at least if it means less revenue for the Thruway Authority. Drivers will have to pay one way or the other, or so the reasoning has long been.

Finally, though, the comptroller's office is saying what of course would be commonplace in the real world: If revenues are down, the Thruway Authority should first try to cut costs. Imagine.

The authority could start by clamping down on overtime. An analysis by The Buffalo News finds that overtime for Thruway workers came to $8.7 million last year, with more than 200 of them earning more than $10,000 each that way.

Thruway Executive Director Michael Fleischer says, "Fair enough" to Mr. DiNapoli -- sort of. Five percent toll increases planned for 2009 and again for 2010 could be reconsidered, he says. Stopping that toll increase starting next year is a different matter, however. The Thruway Authority seems to have planned on that money. More to the point, it seems to not have anticipated someone like Mr. DiNapoli coming along and saying the days of regular toll increases, no tough questions asked, ought to be over.

So here's Mr. Fleischer, asking the comptroller's office for assistance in controlling costs.

Help him out, Mr. DiNapoli. Tell him what he needs to hear.

THE ISSUE:The state comptroller says toll hikes must be justified.

THE STAKES:Emphasis should be on cost control, not those who drive.

Quoted Text

Spitzer rapped about toll hikes
Tedisco says upstate economy will be hurt
BY BOB CONNER Gazette Reporter

   It is “geographic discrimination” for Gov. Eliot Spitzer to oppose subway fare increases in New York City but not Thruway toll increases across the state, according to Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, R-Schenectady.
   Tedisco said Friday that increasing the tolls, as the Thruway Authority plans to do, would hurt the upstate economy. Their very existence, he said, has been a drag on the region’s economic growth.
   The Democratic governor on Tuesday came out against a potential fare increase floated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates subways, trains and buses in the New York City region. “We will save the $2 fare,” Spitzer was quoted as saying at a New York City news conference.
   The Thruway tolls were supposed to go out of existence in the mid 1990s when the bonds to construct the road were paid off, but state leaders from both parties decided to keep them and the revenue they generate.
   Tedisco, however, said, “I was opposed to it then. I’m opposed to it now.”
   The new increases are particularly ill-timed, the Republican Assembly leader said, because of rising gas prices and the lagging upstate economy. While “the economy is booming downstate,” Tedisco noted, that’s where the governor has pledged to block fare hikes.
   Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Pritchard said: “The governor believes that tolls should not be increased unless necessary to cover the Thruway Authority’s capital and operating costs. We therefore look forward to reviewing the results of the comptroller’s audit, which should help the Thruway Authority determine whether the increase is needed.”
   She was referring to an audit by the office of state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, a Democrat. He issued a statement last week saying his office would examine whether the Thruway toll increase is needed and urged the authority to delay any increase until the audit is complete.
   DiNapoli spokeswoman Jennifer Freeman said Friday that the audit is under way but could not estimate when it would be completed. She said the Thruway Authority has indicated it is likely to go ahead with a 10 percent toll hike to take effect in January but is open to discussing its proposals for subsequent increases.
   The January increase is the last stage of a series of toll hikes approved in 2005. The Authority is also considering a reduction in the E-Z Pass discount later next year, and 5 percent general toll increases in both 2009 and 2010.
   The Thruway Authority Board, whose members were all appointed by former Gov. George Pataki, has power to increase tolls on its own. Spokeswoman Betsy Graham said the January increase will take effect based on the board’s prior approval. The board would need to go through a new regulatory process, including public hearings, to enact the subsequent proposed changes.
   The state Conservative Party issued a statement opposing the toll increases, and said, “Governors and state legislators over the past 20 years have siphoned revenue from the Thruway Authority; in fact toll revenues in 2006 were $554 million while $331 million was spent on operating the Thruway system.”
   Graham provided different figures for that year. She said the Thruway Authority had revenue of $572 million, and spent $323 million on the Thruway, $11.5 million on Interstate 84, and $42.8 million on the canal system. The rest of the $572 million was used for capital projects, reserves and debt service, and none was siphoned off into general state expenses, she said. The authority only spends money on the Thruway and other projects, such as operation of the canal system, mandated by the state Legislature, Graham said.
   Pritchard declined to respond to Tedisco’s criticism or to questions about Spitzer’s position on tolls.
   Some other Republican state legislators, including Assemblyman George Amedore, R-Rotterdam, have opposed the proposed toll increases. Amedore said he has been gathering data from bus and trucking companies to buttress his case. He said he ultimately favors abolishing the tolls, and meanwhile supports splitting the canal system away from the authority. Canal Corp. Executive Director Carmella Mantello and Pataki proposed that split last year, but the Legislature did not act on it.
   Matt Maguire, spokesman for The Business Council of New York State, said it does not have a position on the issue of tolls, but they make up part of the burden of fees and taxes that is too high in this state.
   Thruway toll collectors are represented by a New York City-based Teamsters local, which could not be reached for comment Friday.  

Quoted Text

The state Conservative Party issued a statement opposing the toll increases, and said, “Governors and state legislators over the past 20 years have siphoned revenue from the Thruway Authority; in fact toll revenues in 2006 were $554 million while $331 million was spent on operating the Thruway system.”

Quoted Text

An arm twist, a Spitzer smile could derail Thruway toll hike
By FRED LeBRUN
First published: Sunday, November 25, 2007

It's a politically delicate moment for Eliot Spitzer.
  
This past week, for the first time in many months, he showed impressive leadership by persuading New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority to abandon plans for a bus and subway toll increase.

"Halt the hike" had become a populist cause down in the city, and for the first time since Troopergate threw him into a tailspin, Spitzer played governor with a deft hand and a tuned ear to what the public wanted. And he delivered.

He promised millions of daily subway and bus riders that he would find the $600 million a year the MTA needs for operating expenses, so the public can count on those continued $2 fares.

And Eliot got the MTA to look harder into its own considerable budget, and $220,000 somehow materialized to offset anticipated needs. Gubernatorial arm-twisting will do that.

Now Eliot has to find a way to do the same thing for upstate commuters over scheduled Thruway toll hikes or get hammered for regional favoritism.

Although even a casual look at the two situations shows us we're comparing tangerines to pomegranates. The MTA, which runs the buses, subways, bridges and tunnels, is essential for the economy of New York City. It has been and always will be heavily subsidized.

What happens to the MTA directly affects half the population of the state, and many, from the rich to the impoverished, rely on it. The fare would have jumped to $2.25 a ride, which for those at the bottom rung of the economic ladder, is significant.

By contrast, the state Thruway is a convenience but not a necessity for most of us. If the Thruway disappeared tomorrow, we'd still find a road to get there. Plus, the proposed 10 percent toll increase in January amounts to nickels and dimes for those who use the Thruway for one or two stops as commuters.

But the biggest difference between the MTA and Thruway is that the latter is a cash cow, traditionally a huge money-maker. So much so that like an addict, the state refused to give up this lucrative revenue source when it was supposed to, when the bonds that built it were paid off.

Which is one of many things deeply annoying about the Thruway Authority, that it still exists at the scale it does.

I remember well when a shotgun was put to the Thruway Authority's head and it was forced to marry the state's always impoverished canal system. At the time it was deemed a brilliant idea, by lawyers, of course. A way to indirectly subsidize boat travel and barge commerce forever and ever while getting rid of a drag on the general fund.

But that marriage was predicated on the golden goose churning out that egg, a big annual Thruway surplus. Times have changed. Thruway use is actually declining, and with the price of gas going only one way, my hunch is the less and less profitable trend will continue. The goose, in short, is cooked.

So what can Eliot Spitzer do about all this?

The governor's first reaction was foolish. He told the simple truth. Namely, that he has no control over the Thruway Authority and its decisions. It's an independent authority, well larded with Pataki appointees given long terms.
What he should have said, not only because it paints him more favorably as a statesman but because it's closer to political reality -- a complex truth -- is that he will see what he can do. Which, incidentally, is eventually what he did say. The governor holds enormous influence, and if he wants to rattle the Thruway Authority's cage, he can do it. He has assets.

It should have surprised no one that state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli announced an aggressive audit of the Thruway Authority and its proposed 20 percent in toll hikes over three years, including the 10 percent increase scheduled for six weeks from now.

At long last we'll find out if what the Thruway Authority has been insisting is true, that it can fully justify those hikes. If the excessive budgetary fat of the bad old days has all been cut away.

My further hunch is that when the fog clears, Buffalo and Eliot Spitzer will both get something out of this. Elected officials out in the western part of the state are especially steamed over the Thruway toll hikes. They are the ones raising the specter of regional favoritism.

So don't be surprised either if Tom DiNapoli's audit somehow shows the Thruway Authority a way to solve its revenue dilemma without resorting to toll increases, at least the ones for 2009 and 2010. An arm twist and a Spitzer smile can do that.

Fred LeBrun can be reached at 454-5453 or by e-mail at flebrun@timesunion.com.

Quoted Text

Business and political leaders blast Thruway toll increase
Amedore slates public hearing on state’s plan
BY BOB CONNER Gazette Reporter

   For Vincent Gramuglia, who owns five truck stops near the Thruway, including two in Montgomery County, the planned toll increases are a disaster waiting to happen.
   In 2003, he said, his Countryside Fuels venue in Fultonville sold 248,000 gallons of diesel fuel in one week of August. In the same week this year, he said, it sold only 111,000 gallons. Gramuglia blames prior toll increases and New York’s high gas taxes, which are giving truckers an incentive to avoid the Thruway.
   “They’re nearly putting us out of business here,” he said.
   Gramuglia was among several business and political leaders who joined Assemblyman George Amedore, R-Rotterdam, on Wednesday for a news conference at Amsterdam’s Thruway exit to oppose the Thruway Authority’s plans to raise tolls. A 10 percent hike, the last stage of toll increases approved in 2005, is scheduled to take effect in January, and the authority has tentative plans for further increases down the road. It is considering reducing the E-ZPass discount next year, and hiking tolls by 5 percent in both 2009 and 2010.
   Amedore said the tolls should have been removed from the road in the 1990s as was originally planned, and that the way for the authority to save money now is to remove its responsibility for the state Canal Corp.
   But those ideas are opposed by Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat. Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Pritchard issued a statement saying:
   “The Thruway Authority should do everything in its power to control its costs to limit any toll increase. The hard budget decisions associated with that effort should not be postponed by shifting to the state the cost of operating the Canal Corporation. The Thruway Authority’s statutory obligation to operate the Canal Corporation results in transportation expenses being paid with transportation tolls — paid, in part, by out-of-state haulers and travelers. Imposing those costs on all taxpayers would be unfair, change a system in place since 1992, and add $80 million to the state’s $4.3 billion budget gap.”
   The 1992 reference is to the year when the Canal Corp. was placed under the Thruway Authority by state legislation. Last year, the Thruway Authority board, whose members were appointed by then-Gov. George Pataki, supported a proposal by the Republican governor to make the Canal Corp. independent and financed by general state revenue. The Legislature did not act on the Pataki proposal.
   Sisa Moyo, a spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, said it is “unfortunate” that the authority remains under the control of Pataki appointees. The speaker thinks no toll hike should be approved until the results are seen from an audit of the authority now being done by the state Comptroller’s Office, Moyo said. She said Amedore’s proposal “fails to address the possible impact on the Canal Corp.”
   Mark Hansen, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, said Bruno supports the comptroller’s audit, opposes toll hikes, and is open to the idea of splitting off the Canal Corp.
   Amedore said he is scheduling a public hearing on the issue in Albany for Tuesday. He was vague in responding to questions about how the canal system should be funded, if not by tolls, and did not propose specific budget cuts in other areas to provide the money.
   Deborah Auspelmyer, president of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, said toll increases are bad for every kind of business in the county, from manufacturing to tourism, and for commuters, too. “It’s really everything,” she said.
   Amedore also got support from Amsterdam Town Supervisor Thomas DiMezza, chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, as well as county economic development officials.
   Business leaders opposing the toll hikes included representatives of Power Pallet and the Brown Transportation bus company. Marilyn Buanno, chief financial officer for Buanno Transportation, a trucking company, said it is now paying about $15,000 a month in tolls, and can ill afford any increase, especially given the high cost of gas in New York.
   “This kid here,” Gramuglia said about Amedore, “he’s bringing awareness to the people. Whether he can do something, I don’t know.”
   Amedore was elected in a special election July 31, after Assemblyman Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, resigned. Democrats control the state Assembly.
   On Wednesday, Amedore echoed the complaint of Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, R-Schenectady, that it would be “geographical discrimination” for the state to hold the line on masstransit fares in New York City, as Spitzer has proposed, while permitting Thruway tolls to rise.  

Quoted Text

Sisa Moyo, a spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, said it is “unfortunate” that the authority remains under the control of Pataki appointees

Quoted Text

Hevesi Rescinds Approval Of Canal Corp. Contract With Hutchens Because Agency Provided False & Misleading Information


State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi said today that he has rescinded the May, 2002 approval of a contract between the state Canal Corporation and Buffalo businessman Richard Hutchens for development rights along the Erie Canal because of false and misleading statements made by the Canal Corporation regarding the agreement.

Under the terms of the contract, it is not effective without the approval of the Comptroller, so rescinding the approval renders the contract null and void.

“The Canal Corporation and its parent, the Thruway Authority, have repeatedly asserted that the approval of the Hutchens contract 18 months ago by the Comptroller’s Office is an indication that the contract met our review standards,” Hevesi said. “But it is now clear that the Canal Corporation did not provide honest and complete answers to the Comptroller’s Office during the contract review process, so I am rescinding this Office’s approval which thereby voids the Hutchens contract.”

Hevesi formally rescinded the contract approval, which resulted in the voiding of the contract, in letters sent Friday, October 17 to Thruway Authority Chairman Michael Fleischer and each member of the Thruway Authority Board of Directors, a copy of which is attached. In the letters, Hevesi detailed findings based on an in-depth analysis of the contract review process and on information disclosed at a recent hearing of the Assembly Committee on Corporations, Commissions and Authorities that focused on the Hutchens contract.

Among these findings are the following:

Hutchens was not the only firm interested in and prepared to pursue real estate development along the canal, contrary to information provided by Canal Corporation officials during the contract review process. At least seven firms that contacted Canal Corporation in response to a 1996 solicitation were interested in real estate development, but were either excluded for specious reasons or ignored. One of the firms was so interested in canal-side development that it went on to complete three residential developments without Canal Corporation assistance.

Canal Corporation officials falsely told the Comptroller’s Office that they followed up with all 33 firms that responded to the 1996 letter. There is only evidence of Canal Corp. sending letters to 14 of the 33. Comptroller’s Office staff were able to locate 18 of the 33. Only two of the 18 recalled any follow-up conversations.

Hutchens had inside information that other firms did not have access to, and it appears his proposal was the model for the Canal Corporation’s 1999 solicitation. A proposal made by Hutchens as early as 1996, and refined through interaction with the Canal Corporation during the following years, became the model described in the official solicitation for residential developments along the canal advertised in the Contract Reporter in 1999.

Before the Canal Corporation’s formal solicitation for canal-front development concepts, attempts were made to influence at least one Thruway Authority and Canal Corporation Board Member to support the Hutchens proposal. A handwritten note and other communications from 1998 discuss efforts by Hutchens to discuss his proposal with Board Member Nancy Carey.

In his letter, the Comptroller also asked the Thruway Authority to return the $30,000 payment to Hutchens and to inform all entities which may be effected by the contract that has been voided.

“Development along the Erie Canal will be an important part of upstate economic development efforts in the coming years,” Hevesi said. “But there is no excuse for not giving every potential developer an equal opportunity to compete for the right to build. When the State offers a valuable opportunity, it must use a fair and open competitive process to award it. That is not only in the interest of fairness for the vendors, but also to ensure that the taxpayers receive the best possible deal.”
###

  

Albany Phone: (518) 474-4015  Fax:(518) 473-8940
NYC Phone: (212) 681-4825  Fax:(212) 681-4468
Internet: http://www.osc.state.ny.us
E-Mail:press@osc.state.ny.us

Quoted Text

Tedisco is wrong to call for elimination of Thruway tolls
BENJAMIN TURON Ballston Spa

   Re the Nov. 24 article “Spitzer rapped about toll hikes”: Assemblyman James Tedisco’s call for the elimination of tolls on the New York State Thruway is illconceived. If not tolls, then what will pay for the aging superhighway?
   While free for drivers, in the end we would all pay for the maintenance and rebuilding of the Thruway indirectly through higher state taxes. And with the Federal Highway Trust Fund projected to go into deficit in 2009, less federal funding is expected unless the federal gas tax is substantially raised. That the Thruway is financially self-sufficient should be praised.
   Ironically, Tedisco is at odds with current conservative thinking, as espoused by the likes of George Will and the Wall Street Journal, that there should be more toll roads (private, of course) opposed to less! The leasing of the Chicago Skyway and Indiana Toll Road are often cited as successful examples. Proponents claim private highways will provide the capital for expansion and save money through better management.
   Personally I welcome the audit by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli on the proposed toll increases; check and balances is what accountability in government is all about. However, from the perspective of the many trips I have made via the Thruway, I think it is a very well-run operation.
   I am also glad that the tolls, or “user fees,” are all invested back into the transport system and not used to enrich private shareholders. With major projects such as the Tappan Zee Bridge, Buffalo Peace Bridge and Southern Tier Expressway (I-81, I-86) on the table, perhaps a rise in tolls is justified if it will finish these vital projects.
   Tedisco has apparently become lost in the capital’s all-encompassing miasma that has poisoned state politics and brought progress to a standstill. My advice is to turn on the fog lights and get back on the high road; voters are not served by partisan detours.  

Quoted Text

Hold line on tolls with more E-Z Pass incentives

   Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, upset that Gov. Eliot Spitzer wants to hold the line on New York City subway fares but won’t oppose a Thruway toll hike, thinks tolls should be removed from the 641-mile highway system. A wonderful idea if the state could afford it, because where else would the money to keep up the road come from? Like any Republican worth his salt, Tedisco could be counted on to oppose the tax hikes needed to raise this money. But with New York already facing a $4 billion-plus deficit next year, there’s no way around the dilemma without toll revenues or tax hikes.
   Still, the Thruway can — and should — do something to cut its considerable cost ($40 million a year) for toll collectors, obviating the need for regular toll hikes, including the relatively small one due to take effect next year and the larger ones Executive Director Michael Fleischer has projected for the future. The way to do that is to increase the price differential in tolls between E-Z Pass and cash customers.
   In short, motorists need a greater incentive to switch to the electronic toll-collecting system. It takes so little for someone to open an account and affix a transponder to the windshield, and despite the fact that doing so makes it possible to sail through congested toll plazas, not to mention save 10 percent on their tolls, only 60 percent or so of the Thruway’s customers have bothered 13 years after the introduction of E-Z Pass. Meanwhile, the number of toll collectors has shrunk, from 782 to 506, but that’s a reduction of only 35 percent. If most toll collectors’ jobs could be eliminated, toll hikes might be too.
   Unfortunately, when Fleischer announced the new toll hikes a couple months ago, he indicated that the EZ Pass discount in some areas of the state was being diminished. That’s the wrong way to go if the authority is to cut costs and keep future toll hikes to a minimum.

Quoted Text

CAPITOL
Legislature voices opposition to toll hike
BY BOB CONNER Gazette Reporter

    Opposition to Thruway toll increases mounted Tuesday in the state Legislature.
    Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, DManhattan, released a statement saying he is opposed to planned toll increases “until an audit by State Comptroller Thomas Di-Napoli, currently under way, can determine if the increased revenue is actually necessary.”
    The proposed increases, the speaker said, “would have a devastating effect” on commuters and businesses.
    John McArdle, chief spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, said Senate Republicans oppose the toll increases, and favor splitting the Canal Corp. away from the Thruway Corp., which it has been under since 1992. Most of the Canal Corp.’s annual budget is paid for by Thruway tolls.
    The Associated Press on Tuesday quoted Michael Fleischer, the Thruway Authority’s executive director, as saying removal of the Canal Corp. from the Thruway Authority’s budget probably would mean the toll hikes wouldn’t be needed. “If [the Canal Corp.] was gone, the authority would probably still have to reduce E-ZPass discounts but would likely not have to do the general toll increases in 2009 and 2010,” Fleischer was quoted as saying.
    The state Legislature folded the Canal Corporation — which runs state’s canal system — into the Thruway Authority in 1992.
    Today, it costs about $80 million a year to run the canal system, which takes in only about $2.5 million in revenue, Fleischer said.
    Silver’s statement was issued shortly after a public forum by Assembly Republicans, where there was widespread support for splitting the Canal Corp. from the Thruway Authority.
    Assemblyman George Amedore, R-Rotterdam, who chaired the meeting, said later that money to fund the Canal Corp. could come from freezing, instead of increasing, a municipal aid program to New York City. The economy there, he said, has been booming, unlike in the upstate areas where the Thruway goes from Albany to Buffalo.
    Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, R-Schenectady, who also attended the meeting, issued a statement supporting a long-term plan “to eliminate tolls altogether” on the road.
    Business leaders also opposed the toll increases and supported splitting off the Canal Corp. However, Steve Stallmer, executive director of the state chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America, said his organization does not want tolls abolished, because they provide a guaranteed revenue stream.
    Vincent Gramuglia, who owns five truck stops near the Thruway, does want the tolls gone. Tolls and taxes, he said, are killing his business. He said there are at least 50 bridges that exist only to ferry drivers to toll booths, yet have to be maintained out of those same tolls.
    Assemblyman Jack McEneny, D-Albany, said he, too, is opposed to toll increases, but questioned where the revenue would come from to support the Canal Corp. if it were split away. Dan Weiller, Silver’s chief spokesman, declined to say whether the Canal Corp. should be split off, but said that issue would be discussed in hearings the Assembly majority plans to hold later this month.
    Comptroller DiNapoli’s spokeswoman, Jennifer Freeman, said the Thruway audit began Nov. 16, and is being expedited, meaning it should be finished in several weeks, rather than the normal process that takes several months.
    On Jan. 6, the Thruway Authority is scheduled to raise tolls by 10 percent, which is the last stage of toll increases approved by its board in 2005. The authority also has announced tentative plans for further increases: a reduction in the E-Z Pass discount next year, and 5 percent toll increases in both 2009 and 2010.
    In a speech at the Rockefeller Institute last week, DiNapoli said: “Right now, authorities are spending state dollars — often on projects with no connection to the authorities’ core missions and there’s little or no review of that spending. Public money should be open to public scrutiny.”
    Asked if that meant that the audit would recommend splitting the Canal Corp. from the Thruway, Freeman said it was under consideration.
    Last year, former Gov. George Pataki proposed such a split, which was supported by the Thruway Authority board and Canal Corp. Director Carmella Mantello. His bill, however, did not pass either house of the Legislature.
    On Tuesday, Mantello said she and the board have not changed their positions, but, “We’re not proposing the separation right now. … That’s for the Legislature to decide.”
    Mantello said the Canal Corp.’s annual budget is between $70 million and $80 million, with most of that coming from the Thruway tolls. It also gets several million dollars in federal money, and state grants have allowed it to waive boat tolls for the past two seasons.
    At the Assembly Republican forum, Tedisco linked the proposed highway toll increases to proposed increases in state university tuition as burdens on the hard-pressed upstate economy. He said Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who recently vowed to stop fare increases on New York City public transit and has said he opposes tax increases, also should oppose the toll hikes. “This is an $80 million tax as far as I’m concerned,” Tedisco said.
    Jim Lomanto, of the Brown Coach company in Amsterdam, said it is currently paying about $50,000 per year in tolls. “We cannot continue to absorb the high cost of doing business in New York,” he said.
    Spitzer’s office has said the governor supports the DiNapoli audit, but opposes splitting the Canal Corp. from the Thruway Authority, because it would increase next year’s projected budget gap. He also opposes for budgetary reasons abolishing tolls on the Thruway.
    McArdle said Bruno is open to the idea of abolishing the tolls, as the state had originally planned for when the construction bonds were paid off in the mid 1990s.
    While Tedisco and Amedore support abolition, two other Republican assemblymen at the hearing, Peter Lopez of Schoharie and Marc Butler of Newport, declined to take a position on whether the tolls should be abolished.
    McEneny said he is open to phasing out the tolls.     

Quoted Text

Spitzer opposes toll hike for now Proposed increase for Thruway faces further opposition
BY BOB CONNER Gazette Reporter

    The administration of Gov. Eliot Spitzer came out against proposed Thruway toll increases Wednesday, at least until it gets more information about them.
    “We are unable to endorse the proposed toll increases for the Thruway Authority,” wrote Timothy Gilchrist, Spitzer’s deputy secretary for economic development and infrastructure, in a letter to Michael Fleischer, executive director of the Thruway Authority.
    Gilchrist objected both to the Thruway’s previously approved 10 percent toll hike scheduled to take effect Jan. 6 and further increases tentatively planned for the next three years.
    There has been mounting opposition to the toll increases from the Legislature, including the leadership of both houses. Assembly Republicans are holding a series of public meetings around the state to provide a forum for public opposition to the toll hikes.
    Gilchrist wrote: “Your proposal discusses the need to maintain the Thruway credit rating and yet increases the coverage ratio [revenue to debt service] to higher levels than called for in your internal fiscal management guidelines and your bond covenants.
    “Why is the Thruway Authority seeking the higher coverage ratio? ... What is the certainty of a lower credit rating if higher coverage levels are not maintained?”
    Gilchrist also said, “The Thruway is proposing a much larger capital program than it has executed in previous years,” and he raised questions about that.
    Thruway Authority spokeswoman Betsy Graham responded with a statement saying: “The Authority’s staff will provide answers to and continue to work with the governor’s staff to allow for further analysis of the Authority’s proposal. The Authority is confident that its staff will be able to develop a plan that protects the safety of its roads and bridges by preserving the highway and bridge improvement plan and minimizes the impact on commuters, while still ensuring the soundness of the Authority’s financial plan. The Authority board has a fi duciary responsibility to safeguard the Authority’s finances, to maintain the integrity of the Thruway System and preserve a good credit rating.”
    The Thruway board has the legal authority to raise tolls on its own. Approval by the Legislature or governor is not required. Gilchrist recognized that in his letter and said the governor’s office will be “in a better position to make a judgment position on the proposed increase” when it receives the requested information and reviews an audit of the Thruway being done by the state comptroller’s office.
    The Thruway board is dominated by appointees of former Gov. George Pataki, most of whom were put on it late in the Republican governor’s last term. Democrats, including Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, have criticized the makeup of the board and suggested that it is time for new members.
    Spitzer had been accused of “geographic discrimination” by Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, R-Schenectady, for opposing transit fare increases in New York City but not the Thruway toll hikes.
    Republicans have called the planned toll increases an additional burden on the struggling upstate economy. They also suggested that one way to buttress the Thruway Authority’s finances would be to take away its responsibility for the state Canal Corp. Thruway tolls pay for most of the Canal Corp.’s $80 million annual budget.
    Last week, the governor’s offi ce opposed removing the Canal Corp. from the Thruway Authority, saying that would add to next year’s projected $4.3 billion state budget gap.
    Fred Miller, executive director of the Mohawk Valley Heritage Corridor Commission, said he is skeptical about splitting off the Canal Corp. without an assured source of funding for it.
    Last year, Pataki proposed a split, and his position was supported by the Thruway board and Carmella Mantello, executive director of the Canal Corp. She said this week that there is widespread support for the canal system from legislators in both parties and she would expect them to provide adequate funding if the split did happen.
    Prior to 1992, when it came under the Thruway Authority, the Canal Corp. was part of the state Department of Transportation.     

Quoted Text

Silver’s statement was issued shortly after a public forum by Assembly Republicans, where there was widespread support for splitting the Canal Corp. from the Thruway Authority.

Quoted Text

Hevesi Rescinds Approval Of Canal Corp. Contract With Hutchens Because Agency Provided False & Misleading Information

Quoted Text

Don’t need a hearing to know toll hikes will hurt

    It baffles me how stupid the spin doctors think we are.
    Newly-elected Assemblyman George Amedore is going to be using more of our money to hold public hearings to get feedback from the public — particularly the business community — to find out if the proposed increase in tolls on the Thruway is going to effect business [Dec. 5 Gazette]. Who is he kidding? Any increase in any expenditure for anyone or any business is going to cause pain to any who are affected by the increased cost. This isn’t rocket science.
    However, Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco has provided the newlyelected assemblyman with the opportunity to show the voting public that he really cares about us at our expense. God love our country.
    Don’t you think it would be a lot easier for Tedisco to call Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and set a meeting with Thruway Chairman John J. Buono, the former Rensselaer County executive and appointee of various high-profile positions during the Pataki years, that these increases are going to cause pain to newly-elected Amedore’s constituents, who commute in from Fulton/Montgomery/Schenectady/ Scoharie counties?
    Mark my word, the fare hikes will go on hold and the agency will find the will to cut the fat somewhere else — like the rank-and-file folks from the Thruway Authority who actually do something. Chalk up another example of governmental waste!
    KENNETH R. GARCIA
    Gansevoort

Quoted Text

A historic perspective on the Thruway

By TOM RYAN
First published: Monday, December 17, 2007

A long line of officials is railing against proposed increases in Thruway tolls. Some believe separating the canal system from the Thruway will solve the problem, while others call for abolishing tolls altogether. Neither idea is new, and some history is in order.
     
The inspiration for our superhighway came when New York was still in its ascendance as the Empire State. And like the Erie Canal the century before, users paid for it on their own. Bonds were sold for construction, and tolls paid them off.
The canal opened the West to development, ensured the new nation would survive economically, and made New York the Empire State. Today's modern waterway is the direct descendant of that enormously important historic asset, and many people believe it can emerge again as a new economic force.
The Thruway was also a huge success, becoming the model for our nation's highway system. And by 1996 when the bonds were retired, drivers would ride for free -- like the "freeways" in California, which were funded by Washington.
But ending tolls meant merging the Thruway with the state highway network, requiring maintenance expenditures from the General Fund. New York had returned from the brink of bankruptcy during its fiscal crisis the decade before, and didn't need a major new claim on the state treasury (the Thruway was then spending five times as much for maintenance per lane mile than state Department of Transportation did on its system).
So in the early 1980s, official thoughts turned to keeping the tolls, and over time that urge became more appealing as an unusual but effective alliance of politicians, transportation officials, bureaucrats and special interests swung into action!
Why? The Thruway is a cash cow. It provides lucrative contracting opportunities, employs thousands of people, is among our last bastions of raw political patronage, and drains nothing from state coffers. How could state government resist keeping the tolls? The icing on the cake was a study commissioned by toll advocates that found one-third of tolls were paid by out-of-state drivers. Eureka!
Amid a recession in the early 1990s, the Thruway was generating an extra $100 million annually. Keeping the tolls and using the excess for new purposes was now irresistible. In 1991, voters approved a constitutional amendment that made way for The Thruway 2000 Act of 1992 -- proposed by Gov. Mario M. Cuomo and overwhelmingly approved by the Legislature -- that expanded the Thruway's mission and provided a reason to sell new bonds. Tolls were here to stay.
Among other new responsibilities, the Thruway was given the canal system, relieving the state of a $30 million annual outlay. The stated purpose was to recast canals as great tourism attractions and a source of new upstate economic development. Thruway 2000 was intended to allow the canal to become more self-sustaining through waterway tolls and long-term leasing of canal land.Unfortunately, Thruway lawyers effectively killed leasing by making environmental problems the responsibility of tenants, ending most interest in private development. From 1992 to 2002, only 10 long-term leases were completed along a 624-mile waterway with thousands of acres of state-owned waterfront. The new source of potential revenue never materialized.
The Thruway's only major foray into canal real estate -- a single developer was sold rights to 30,000 acres for a pittance -- resulted in an embarrassing public scandal that seems to have ended efforts at new public-private partnerships.
During 15 years of Thruway control, the canal's cost climbed nearly triple the rate of inflation to about $80 million a year (which is less than 10 percent of the Thruway Authority's annual budget). Economic benefits of the investments have not been quantified, and the number of boats using the locks is about the same as 20 years ago. Most canal proponents believe the Thruway marriage was a good one.
Thruway funding preserved and rehabilitated the canal, putting locks, dams and other structures in a state of good repair. Seven new canal harbors provide attractive destinations that welcome tourists, and when completed the 360-mile Canal Recreationway Trail will likely attract many thousands of cyclists every year.
Less impressive is the effort to make the canal corridor a true catalyst for economic development to benefit upstate New York. Tolls were the same for 14 years as Gov. George Pataki disallowed increases until the end of his last term, so it's no surprise the Thruway board raised them as soon as it could and plans to do so again.
The authority wants to shed the canal, and most observers doubt it's simply a coincidence that the projected toll increase equals the amount spent on the waterway. There is a keen interest in what the state comptroller's report will say.
Ironically, appointees of the last administration will decide toll increases, an indication of how illusive change can be in state government.
Tom Ryan is president of the nonprofit State Council on Waterways. He headed the Canal Planning & Development Board, a legislative commission administered by the state Department of Transportation, from 1987 to 1992.

Quoted Text

Thruway OKs budget, toll hikes

By CATHY WOODRUFF, Staff writer
Wednesday, December 19, 2007

ALBANY - The Thruway Authority board today approved a $1.13 billion budget for next year, including the final phase of a toll increase package approved in 2005.
     
The board also gave the go-ahead for hearings and other processes related to more proposed toll hikes. The board will not be asked to act on the proposal for several months, and Thruway Authority Executive Director Michael Fleischer said changes in the plan are possible before then.
Under the 2008 budget approved today, motorists who pay cash for their tolls will pay 10 percent more in January, yielding $25 million in revenue next year to help support a $2.1 billion capital plan approved two years ago.
Because of unexpected declines in Thruway travel and sharply rising construction costs, the Thruway's staff now is recommending additional toll increases to sustain the capital program, which includes repairs and upgrades to bridges and pavement.
The first part of the plan would cut discounts for E-ZPass users in half to 5 percent in July.
Two 5 percent general toll increases would take effect in 2009 and 2010.
The $80 annual fee for a commuter permit would rise to $84 in 2009 and $88 in 2010.
Cash tolls at most barriers and bridges would go up in January 2009, and some bridge and barrier commuter plan fees would go up in 2009 and 2010.
The Thruway Authority now plans to begin a series of hearings and impact studies on the newly proposed toll increases.

Quoted Text

Thruway funding preserved and rehabilitated the canal, putting locks, dams and other structures in a state of good repair. Seven new canal harbors provide attractive destinations that welcome tourists, and when completed the 360-mile Canal Recreationway Trail will likely attract many thousands of cyclists every year.

Quoted Text

During 15 years of Thruway control, the canal's cost climbed nearly triple the rate of inflation to about $80 million a year (which is less than 10 percent of the Thruway Authority's annual budget). Economic benefits of the investments have not been quantified, and the number of boats using the locks is about the same as 20 years ago. Most canal proponents believe the Thruway marriage was a good one.

Quoted Text

The higher the tolls, the fewer the users, the higher the tolls

    I was extremely intrigued by the recent comments from Thruway Executive Director Michael Fleischer regarding the justification for the latest (requests seem to come annually now) proposed toll increases [Dec. 9 Gazette]. Apparently, the need arises from a reduction in usage — less usage results in less income. The proposed remedy is to raise tolls — which will likely result in even less usage — resulting in another toll increase, etc.
    The last poor schmo will end up paying about a million dollars per mile — one trip and he’ll be bankrupt — then there will be no usage, and we can close the Thruway. What a cost savings! This is a terrific plan; let’s do it now. What are we waiting for?
    Does the Thruway Authority think that the general public is really naive enough to buy such a lame excuse for another increase? We all understand that this is just another way to pour more money into their “slush” fund — another hidden tax that can be used to fund who knows what. But they’ll find something to spend it on — likely, all or some for more employees, employee benefits and/or new toys.
    If the Thruway is really in need of funds, it should find some way to reduce expenses. Anyone who has ever driven by a Thruway maintenance project can’t miss the huge fleet of equipment and associated operators, signs, flagmen, sitters, watchers and those keeping the seats warm in all of the vehicles. I wonder what annual savings would result from a reduction to a reasonable staff level — certainly, a lot more than another rate increase. In fact, this could easily lead to a reduction in tolls, which just might yield an increase in usage.
    Enough already!
    R. L. CLINGERMAN
    Rexford

Quoted Text

Cost of ticket to ride Thruway rises
E-ZPass users avoid 10% increase that takes effect today on the toll road
By CATHY WOODRUFF, Staff writer
First published: Sunday, January 6, 2008

If you're among the shrinking number of holdouts who still haven't signed up for E-ZPass, you'll be paying more for your trips on the state Thruway today.
Cash tolls were set to go up 10 percent at midnight in the final phase of a controversial package of increases approved by the Thruway Authority in 2005.
     
The first phase, which went into effect in May 2005, was the first toll hike in 17 years -- 25 percent for cash-paying car drivers and an average of 35 percent for truckers paying cash. At the same time, E-ZPass discounts of 10 percent for cars and 5 percent for trucks were introduced.
While toll increases never inspire a celebration, the hike should be a bit less painful this time around, thanks to the growing popularity of E-ZPass, noted Bill Joyce, president of the New York State Motor Truck Association.
"I think it's more palatable because there is a way to avoid that cost," Joyce said. "That's different from an across-the-board increase, where everything goes up and you have no way out of it."
Cash remains an option that Joyce compared to choosing a full-service gas station.
"If you want that personalized service, you're paying a premium for it. You can pay more if you want someone to smile at you when you pay your 30 cents," he said.
In fact, since cash tolls are going up while E-ZPass tolls are not, the effect will be to increase the value of E-ZPass discounts.
Here's an example:
The 45-cent E-ZPass toll between Albany Exit 23 and Schenectady Exit 25 reflects a 10 percent discount from the old 50-cent cash toll, but it provides an 18 percent discount over the new 55-cent cash toll.
Looking at it another way, E-ZPass motorists will save 10 cents on the trip, rather than 5.
More motorists and businesses are qualifying for the discount as the financial incentive becomes stronger.
The number of E-ZPass accounts is up about 25 percent since the discount plan went into effect in May 2005, the authority said.
Now, more than 61 percent of Thruway transactions at toll booths, bridges and barriers are conducted using E-ZPass. That's up from 25 percent 10 years ago.
Still, there are some motorists who just don't want to use E-ZPass. They use the Thruway infrequently, or they pass through less-congested toll plazas when they do use the highway. Perhaps they don't consider paying tolls electronically worth the red tape involved with keeping an account.
Many farmers probably fall into one or more of those categories, said John Tauzel of the New York Farm Bureau, which vigorously opposed the 2005 toll hike and is preparing to fight another one being proposed now.
"Many of our farmers don't run on the Thruway all the time. They may transport apples or bees or use the road only at harvest time, so it doesn't make sense to have E-ZPass," he said. "I think this is going to have an impact on them."

Quoted Text

Cash remains an option that Joyce compared to choosing a full-service gas station.
"If you want that personalized service, you're paying a premium for it. You can pay more if you want someone to smile at you when you pay your 30 cents," he said.

Quoted Text

Cash remains an option

Quoted Text

Quoted Text

Comptroller comes out against Thruway toll hike
Sunday, January 27, 2008
The Associated Press

BUFFALO — The New York state comptroller says the Thruway Authority should call off a toll hike that the agency planned to apply in July.
Thomas DiNapoli released his audit of the Thruway Authority and says the agency should put off creating any future hikes until it's had a chance to conduct an analysis of its expenses, operations and projects.
The audit examined the calculations used in justifying proposed toll increases in July 2008, January 2009, July 2009 and January 2010.
The agency's board of directors had endorsed the spending plans based on the roughly $375 million officials said the higher tolls would bring in through 2011 and pushed ahead with the toll-hike proposal.

Quoted Text

CAPITOL
Audit critical of toll hikes
DiNapoli: Authority should cut costs, defer some projects
The Associated Press

The New York state comptroller released a report Sunday urging the state Thruway Authority to call off a toll hike that the agency planned to apply in July.
Thomas DiNapoli’s audit of the Thruway Authority says the agency should put off creating any future hikes until it’s had a chance to conduct a thorough analysis of its expenses, operations and projects.
    “The Thruway is too important to the upstate economy to unnecessarily raise tolls and drive up the cost of everything from milk to heating oil, not to mention the impact on commuters,” Di-Napoli said in a written statement. “The Thruway Authority manages the roads well, but it could manage its finances a whole lot better.”
    “We believe the audit as a whole indicates that we do need a toll increase,” said Michael Fleischer, executive director of the Thruway Authority.
    The audit examined the calculations used in justifying proposed toll increases in July 2008, January 2009, July 2009 and January 2010.
    The agency’s board of directors had endorsed the spending plans based on the roughly $375 million officials said the higher tolls would bring in through 2011.
    DiNapoli’s report included a number of recom- mendations, including: cutting costs; using a collection agency to collect unpaid E-Z Pass tolls; prioritizing capital projects; and deferring some temporarily.
    The agency is reducing positions and trying to reduce costs, Fleischer said. The Thruway Authority has also controlled its growth at 3.2 percent — a slower rate than the state government, he said.
    “We disagree with the financial impact of the recommendations. . . . We believe it would be just a fraction of the revenue necessary to continue making the proper investments in the highway,” Fleischer said.
    The comptroller’s audit suggested budgeting for increased federal aid — indicating the agency had estimated receiving only $4.9 million in federal highway funds per year. DiNapoli’s report argues that the authority could “conservatively estimate” an additional $125.3 million in federal funding between 2008 and 2012.
    But Fleischer said that money comes in through the Department of Transportation, and if it was directed to the authority it would come at the expense of the DOT or local programs.
    The comptroller plans to continue auditing the Thruway Authority’s operations and finances this year.
    Until 2005 the Thruway Authority has increased tolls sporadically: in 1959, 1970, 1975, 1980 and 1988. Since 2005 the thruway has increased tolls twice and has proposed four more hikes.
    The most recent toll hike, implemented earlier this month, could have been avoided, DiNapoli said.
    But the money that increase will bring was already guaranteed to pay for $2 billion the Thruway Authority has borrowed.
    DiNapoli also recommended removing the canal system from the Thruway Authority’s operations and developing a long-term solution for financing it.

Quoted Text

The comptroller’s audit suggested budgeting for increased federal aid — indicating the agency had estimated receiving only $4.9 million in federal highway funds per year. DiNapoli’s report argues that the authority could “conservatively estimate” an additional $125.3 million in federal funding between 2008 and 2012.

Quoted Text

Quoted Text

Thruway audit: So what else is new?

    State officials from Gov. Eliot Spitzer on down have been applauding Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s audit of state Thruway finances, which criticized the recent toll hike and suggested that ones the authority wants in each of the next several years are unnecessary. No big surprise on the audit, or to the reaction at the Capitol. Now let’s see if lawmakers can act accordingly and apply appropriate pressure on Thruway officials, so the audit will prove to be more than an exercise in futility.
    Basically, the audit confirmed what New Yorkers have long suspected about the Thruway operation: It’s not as efficient as it could be. Not only does management not require its employees to pay tolls when they use the 641-mile highway, it has let a lot of other motorists off the hook as well (to the tune of $27 million, including fees, between 2000 and 2005). More than 60 percent of its tolls are now collected electronically, via E-ZPass, yet the authority has only reduced the size of its toll collection staff 35 percent since E-ZPass was introduced.
    When it comes to federal highway aid, the audit suggested the authority has been far more conservative than necessary, underestimating future revenue by at least $100 million. That number alone would greatly reduce the need for the toll hikes authority chief Michael Fleischer has recommended over the next few years.
    Running a highway of this magnitude isn’t easy, and while using tolls (paid by out-of-staters as well as New York residents) is preferable to having taxpayers finance the upkeep, there have to be reasonable limits or the outsiders will find other routes. That would be bad not just for upstate commerce, but for motorists as well.

Quoted Text

With bonds paid off, Thruway tolls should have gone down

    In the 1950s, when I would travel on the Thruway with my father, he would tell me how this great road would be toll-free when the bonds to build it were paid off.
    As an adult and seeing the bond come to an end, I knew it would never happen, as the Thruway Authority was just too big; with E-ZPass, it grew some more, and then the canal was added and it just got bigger. Just too many jobs to simply disappear. With I-88, I-81 and the Northway all being toll-free, to say the Thruway needs the tolls for upkeep is not true. With $550 million in tolls and $25 million uncollected, there is just too much money and too many people involved. What should happen since the bonds have been paid off is that the portion of the toll that paid for the bonds should go away, and tolls should be going down.
    Like a mortgage on a house when it’s paid in 30 years, that part of your annual expense goes away, and you are only left with insurance, taxes and upkeep. Your amount spent goes down, not up.
    E.A. COOK
    Charlton

• Varying one's route to utilize thoroughfares for which there are no tolls.
  
• Participate in a car pool.
  
• Take public transportation.
  

Quoted Text

CAPITOL
Lawmakers criticize another toll hike plan
BY RICHARD RICHTMYER The Associated Press

    The state Thruway Authority is expected to vote today on a new round of toll hikes that would start this summer.
    The plan is to phase in a pair of 5 percent hikes for those paying cash at the toll booths and what amounts to an increase as high as 28 percent for some drivers who use the EZ-Pass electronic toll collecting system.
    The hikes would begin in July and continue through January 2010. They would come on top of a 10 percent increase that took effect this year.
    Thruway managers say the increases are needed because too few drivers have been paying to use the 641-mile superhighway to cover the cost of a $2.1 billion highway and bridge repair plan. They expect the toll increases to raise $375 million through 2011.
    Since Thruway officials floated the toll hike plan in November, there has been an outcry across the state and among lawmakers in Albany, many of them arguing that raising tolls could squelch an already slowing upstate economy.
    State Comptroller Thomas Di-Napoli also released an audit last winter urging the Thruway Authority to call off the increases and instead carefully review its finances for ways to cut costs.
    DiNapoli reiterated that position Thursday.
    “Transportation costs are driving up the price of everything from flour and milk to lumber and sheetrock,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “The last thing New Yorkers need now is another tax increase disguised as a toll hike.”
    Some of the Thruway Authority’s board members say they’ve been frustrated by the public pressure to nix the hikes.
    Neither the Legislature nor the governor control the agency, which was created to be independent and is funded primarily through toll collections. But board members complain that the state has saddled the agency with additional costs.
    They point in particular to the state’s Canal Corp., which the Legislature folded into the Thruway Authority in 1992. DiNapoli’s audit found that the canal system will account for $395 million in costs through 2012.
    Kevin Plunkett, a Thruway Authority board member from Hudson Valley, said he’s reviewed all of the analysis and heard all of the arguments and plans to vote in favor of the toll hikes.
    “With the burden of the Canal Corp.’s budget and the capital improvements that are necessary on the bridges and roadways, these adjustments are warranted,” he said.
    Buffalo-area board member Jeffrey Williams said he plans to vote against the increases, which he believes would force the Legislature and the Thruway Authority to work together on the issue.
    “It wouldn’t compromise public safety because we’d shift our priorities in the Thruway Authority and live within our means,” Williams said. “People find creative solutions when they’re cash strapped, and I haven’t seen a creative solution yet.”

Quoted Text

Thruway Authority OKs toll hike
April 25, 2008
The Associated Press contributed to this report

ALBANY — The cost of driving on the New York State Thruway is going up.
The Thruway Authority’s board of directors approved a series of toll hikes today that managers of the 641-mile superhighway say will raise about $375 million over the next three years.
Drivers who pay cash will see the smallest increase. Cash tolls will go up 5 percent next January and another 5 percent in January 2010.
Those using the EZ-Pass electronic toll collecting system — which provides discounts as an incentive to get drivers to sign up — will see much steeper increases.
Starting this July, a series of reductions in the EZ-Pass discount rates combined with higher toll rates will result in some drivers paying as much as 28 percent more than they do today.
Earlier in the day, authority officials said they have been doing all they can to avoid the hike. In a statement released this morning, officials said the authority has been operating under its own cost-containment measures for years, but still needs additional revenue to continue to fund its multi-year capital improvement program.
Officials said the authority has eliminated more than 450 jobs since 1995, with plans to cut at least another 50 positions by the end of 2012.
Authority officials blamed state leaders in part for the toll hike, pointing out that no additional state or federal aid has been dedicated to the Thruway this year, an action they said could have led them to reconsider the toll hike.
"In fact, the authority waited to present the proposal to the board for final action until after the state budget was passed," the statement said. "However, no monetary or statutory relief was provided to the authority. Had relief been provided, the authority could have pursued other options, but the increase is, now, the last resort."
Authority officials said the proposed toll hike "will compliment cost-containment efforts and will enable the authority to fulfill its commitment to provide safe and reliable roads and bridges to Thruway motorists," according to the statement.
Authority officials also addressed several recommendations made in an audit by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli in January, saying they have agreed to implement some suggestions, like increasing efforts to collect delinquent E-ZPass tolls and other fees. However, a recommendation to increase the amount of advertising and sponsorships along the highway is severely restricted by federal law, authority officials said, making it unlikely to generate additional revenue.
Meanwhile, the suggestion of having the authority divest itself of the state Canal Corp. would require action by the state Legislature, authority officials pointed out.

Quoted Text

ALBANY
Toll booth to cost more
Thruway rate increase to start with E-Z Pass
BY BOB CONNER Gazette Reporter

    The New York State Thruway board on Friday ignored the unanimous advice of New York’s political leaders and approved a series of toll increases that will take effect over the next 20 months.
    E-Z Pass rates will go up in June, and then again in January 2009 and 2010, when cash tolls go up in two 5 percent increases. Cash tolls went up 10 percent this past January, and Thruway officials said the E-Z Pass adjustment will have that program consistently offering a 5 percent discount from the cash payments.
    Much steeper discounts are available in a commuter E-Z Pass program, but it too will see increases in 2009 and 2010.
    The Thruway board did slightly modify its proposed toll increases, keeping in place an E-Z Pass discount program for some New York-based truckers, and expanding the discount for hybrid vehicles meeting fuel efficiency and emission standards.
    Thruway leaders including Chairman John Buono and Executive Director Michael Fleischer defended the toll increases as necessary to preserve its 2,430 miles of pavement and 807 bridges, 80 percent of which were built when the road was, in the 1950s. The toll increases, they said, are needed to fund the capital program to keep that infrastructure in good condition.
    Gov. David Paterson and state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli denounced the toll increases the day before the board acted. On Friday, DiNapoli spokeswoman Jennifer Cunningham said more audits on the Authority will be forthcoming, and one already is under way. One was completed earlier this year, also. She said the Thruway board should have waited until the new audits were done and more cost-saving measures were identified.
    Fleischer said the Authority has responded to the comptroller’s first audit, and some of the actions, such as pursuing E-Z Pass deadbeats, were already under way before the audit recommended them. On Friday, the board approved a contract with a company to collect those debts. But it is open to new ideas, he said.
    Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, R- Schenectady, issued a statement Friday denouncing the toll increases and pushing his conference’s bill to prevent the Authority from raising tolls without legislative approval.
    “We can’t just go out and do the political thing,” Buono said after the meeting. “No one wants to do this, but there’s a reality out there. If you hit a pothole at 60 mph, you’re going to be dead.”
    Kendra Adams, acting president of the state Motor Truck Association, said the trucking industry cannot afford these increases, especially given the high cost of gas. She said it wants the Canal Corp. separated from the Thruway Authority so that motorists’ tolls no longer pay $80 million per year for upkeep of the canal. Buono has said he favors that separation, and DiNapoli said it should be considered. However, the governor is trying to cut state costs, not increase them, and no one has suggested any way of paying for the canal apart from tapping state funds if it were to be separated from the Thruway Authority.
    Asked if truckers might stay off the highway because of the toll increases, John Bryan, the Authority’s chief financial officer, said it has been determined that any such diversion would be minimal. High fuel prices, he said, may help keep truckers on the Thruway rather than traveling less-direct routes where stop-and-go traffic burns more fuel.
    Adams said some local truckers may seek alternative routes, although it helps that they will still get the E-Z Pass discount. While strongly opposing the toll increases, she said the Authority does do a good job keeping the road and bridges in shape.
    By the time the increases are phased in, they are supposed to bring in an additional $125 million in annual revenue.
    Thruway leaders said they have been economizing, eliminating more than 450 jobs since 1995, and planning to eliminate 50 more through attrition by 2011. Their budget is up 3.2 percent this year, they said, and they plan to hold to that rate of increase over the next few years.
    They also note their budget increase is significantly less than the state’s budget increase.
    One board member, Jeffrey Williams, who is a strong advocate of separating the Canal Corp. from the Authority, voted against the toll increases.
    Also at the meeting, the board designated Erin Crotty as vice chair, No. 2 to Buono. She is a former environmental conservation commissioner, and, like most board members, an appointee of former Gov. George Pataki, a Republican. Paterson and DiNapoli are Democrats. The former vice chair recently retired from the board.
    The Associated Press reported that most drivers interviewed Friday were not happy.
    “I don’t like it,” said Ron Kuvik of Massena, while stopping at the Clarence rest area on his way to Erie, Pa. “I don’t have any idea why they’re doing it. We’re already taxed highest in New York state and as far as I’m concerned, it’s taxation without representation. No one asks the little people.”
    Paterson’s statement said: “The Thruway toll increase is unfair to drivers who are being asked to tighten their belts every day in these troubled economic times. I have asked my agencies for acrossthe-board cuts of 3.35 percent in their operations. I am also undertaking a comprehensive review of the budget to further reduce spending. For the Authority to increase tolls now, and also plan 5 percent increases in the following two years without a commitment to take every possible step to reduce spending, runs against the state’s goal of fiscal restraint in the face of a national economic downturn.”

Quoted Text

Wrong way on Thruway tolls

    The Thruway toll hike approved Friday is an insult to all users of the 641-mile highway, but most of all to upstaters, whose economic wellbeing is threatened by the ever-increasing tolls.
    Thruway officials’ explanation for the latest round of hikes is that fewer people are using the toll road these days, while maintenance costs are rising. Why are fewer people using the highway? Could it have anything to do with the 25 percent-35 percent hike in tolls just three years ago? Not according to Thruway officials, who blame higher gas prices. Indeed those have finally started to put a dent in auto travel. But it’s folly to think that higher tolls don’t also discourage motorists from using the Thruway. And as for a business model that suggests the solution to falling sales is a hike in prices, well, let’s just say that it sounds about right for a government agency.
    Granted, the Thruway Authority needs money to improve its roads and bridges, some of which are in pretty rough shape. But there’s a way to balance the equation without raising tolls: It’s called cutting costs. The Authority brags that it has cut 450 jobs since