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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.

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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.”

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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.

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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.  

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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.”

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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.

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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.  

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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