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Battle Cry of 'No Tolls' Sounds On Parkway
Originally appeared in the Star-Ledger on August 27, 2000
Citizens Against Tolls has gained enough stature that some of the state's most powerful politicians -- including the Governor and ranking legislators -- are careful not to dismiss the anti-toll movement out of hand.
Top officials say they, too, would love to get rid of the tolls, tf only there were a workable plan to come up with the money to do it.
Indeed, beyond the populist and political rhetoric, the real battleground in the debate on the issue is money: The key question is how to offset the $185 million in annual revenue produced by the Parkway's tolls.
"The state always has enough money to cover spending for special-interest groups, but it never seems to have enough to give citizens, a tax break," said Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler, a Republican gubernatorial hopeful whom the anti-toll folks call "our heavy artillery."
But another likely GOP candidate in next year's race for the Statehouse thinks the issue is too complicated for quick-fix campaign promises. "It's easy to be in favor of getting rid of the tolls, but before we take the tolls down, there has to be a working plan On what to do with the
outstanding debt on the highway, with the maintenance costs and with all the other costs," said Chuck Leitgeb, spokesman for Assembly Speaker Jack Collins (R-Salem).
Defenders of the tolls insist that eliminating them would leave a gaping fiscal hole without any practical or acceptable way to cover the expenses. Ultimately, they contend, financial pressures would lead to cutbacks that would jeopardize the quality of the highway.
The tolls' detractors argue the
money simply gets pumped into a wasteful government agency that runs the highway. They maintain that increasing New Jersey's gasoline tax or shifting money from other state treasury accounts would be a better way to pay for the road.
The two sides differ dramatically on how much money the state would have to come up with to offset the loss of the tolls. Some anti-toll activists set the annual expense at $70 million, while Parkway officials say the number is closer to $150 million a year.
Which is right? An examination of the Parkway's budget does not lend easy answers.
About 20 percent of what the Parkway collected in tolls last year, about $37 million, was spent directly on collections -- an expense that would vanish if there were no tolls.
There are, however, other costs that would not go away even if the tolls did, particularly the $56 million a year the New. Jersey Highway Authority pays off on its $621 million of debt on past Parkway improvement projects.
Other Parkway expenditures have become key points of contention in the debate, including the $38.8 million spent annually for maintenance, the $25.3 million for administration and the $22.3 million for State Police patrols and traffic control. The tolls' opponents insist all those costs, particularly the administration budget, could be reduced under better or more streamlined management, while Parkway officials say cutbacks would cause motorists to suffer.
The issue gets People worked up pretty good. During an August19 rally on the Belmar boardwalk, Schundler compared what he called the inevitable demise of the toll plazas to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
"People never thought that it would come down, but it was considered one of the great miracles that it came down in our time," Schundler said. "This will be the same way."
The crowd cheered.
Not everyone at the rally was so enthusiastic.
"The way I took at it, if you get rid of the tolls, my taxes will go up," said 25-year-old Kim O'Connor, an Ocean Grove teacher who declined to sign the petition. "They're never going to get rid of the tolls. This is New Jersey."
The cost of eliminating the tolls goes beyond the highway's basic operating expenses and repairs.
First of all, New Jersey would lose the $10 million a year in toll revenue that the highway authority contributes toward the transportation trust fund, which pays for work on other state roads. Secondly, officials estimate it would cost anywhere from $50 million to $100 million to demolish the parkway toll plazas.
And then, there is the E-ZPass electronic toll collection system. If the Parkway suddenly stopped collecting tolls, the state's $500 million E-ZPass program would lose at least $160 million in revenue from tickets paid by toll violators, projected over the 10-year life of that contract. That could create a shortfall that might have to be picked up by drivers who use the other highways in the E-ZPass program.
Therefore, even though several ranking state officials would love to go down in history as the champion who freed New Jerseyans from the chains of Parkway tolls, none of them seems to have put much effort into coming up with a way to do it.
"Eliminating the tolls on the Parkway is an interesting idea, but it's a very complicated issue," said Gov. Christie Whitman's spokeswoman, Laura Otterbourg. "If the Legislature had a plan, the Governor certainly would consider it."
Even among those staunchly in favor of abolishing the tolls, there is some disagreement on exactly how to come up with the money.
Citizens Against Tolls -- which reports more than 7,000 signatures on its petitions -- advocates an increase in the state's gasoline tax, although its leaders have backed off their original plan for a 3-cent increase, saying they would like to find other savings and try to keep the gas tax at a minimum. Assemblyman Guy Gregg (R-Morris), a leader in the successful campaign to increase the state's speed limit to 65 mph, said he intends to introduce a bill this autumn that would phase in the elimination of the tolls and pay for it through the gasoline tax.
Meanwhile Schundler, who already has raised more than $500,000 to run for the GOP gubernatorial nomination next year, says the state could shift money from what he considers its bloated $12 billion school construction program.
Senate President Donald DiFrancesco (R-Union) and Assembly Speaker Jack Collins (R-Salem), both of whom are considering runs for the Statehouse next year, scoff at Schundler's idea. They say there would be little support in the Legislature for using education money to get rid of the tolls.
Still, those advocating removing the tolls say the Legislature seems to find money for any initiative that has sufficient political support, like the extra $52 million a year officials committed to spending under a law expanding the early retirement program for police officers and fire fighters.
"Just look at all the big-money things the Legislature does," said Steve Carrellas, head of the New Jersey chapter of the National Motorists Association, another supporter of scrapping Parkway tolls. "The legislators can find the money to get rid of the tolls if they want to."
Parkway officials understand that motorists would love to see tolls eliminated, but the agency resents some of the inaccurate statements the activists are making to support their cause. For example, Citizens Against Tolls' fliers accuse the Parkway of waste and excess, proclaiming that 12 of the highway's officials make salaries of more than $150,000. In reality the parkway's highest-paid employee is Executive Director Lewis. Thurston III, who makes $140,400.
Staff writer Liz Leyden contributed to this report.
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Using bread-and-butter activist tactics like rallies and petition drives, an emerging grass-roots movement is mounting the strongest attempt in recent years to eliminate the tolls on the Garden State Parkway.
