Maine Turnpike Authority says without toll increases it could default on its bond debt, hopes to raise additional US$26.5M/year to pay down debts, fund capital improvements

GRAIN VALLEY, Missouri , June 19, 2012 (Land Line) – The Maine Turnpike Authority says that without toll increases the agency could default on its bond debt. Executive Director Peter Mills described the worst-case scenario in a memo to the governor as the agency gears up for public hearings this week in Auburn, Portland and Saco.



Trucks currently pay four times the rate of passenger vehicles. Under the option preferred by the Turnpike Authority, passenger vehicles would pay more at each toll plaza while the multiplier for trucks would increase to 4.25 times the passenger rate.



An example of the preferred option would look something like this: A car currently paying $2 at the York plaza would pay $3 after Nov. 1. With the truck multiplier increasing to 4.25, the current $8 toll paid by five-axle trucks would increase to $12.75.



Other options on the table could increase passenger vehicles even more while boosting the truck multiplier to 5. Trucks could, under some of the options presented, pay double what they do now.



“Here we go again with an effort to bleed truckers’ pocketbooks,” OOIDA stated in a Call-To-Action to members in Maine.



“You are encouraged to stand up and be heard on the issue. Among the most important points to make to officials is the enormous burden an increase will put on small businesses,” the Call-To-Action states. “In addition, tax credits should be made available to truckers for fuel already purchased to run on the turnpike.”



Turnpike officials are hoping to raise an additional $26.5 million per year on top of the approximately $103 million they are taking in now. Mills stated in the memo that the additional money will pay down debts and fund capital improvements, making the agency “good” through 2020.



Public hearings take place Tuesday, June 19, at Auburn City Hall, Wednesday at Portland City Hall and Thursday at Saco City Hall. The hearings begin at 6:30 p.m.



In addition to toll increases, Mills says the agency has already cut expenses by 11 percent in an effort to square up the books and overcome past practices.



“Without sufficient revenue, the Pike will fail to pay enough money into the (maintenance) account even if it is able to pay operating expenses and debt service,” Mills stated in the memo to Gov. Paul LePage.



LePage appointed Mills in 2011 to lead the Maine Turnpike Authority after the embattled former director, Paul Violette, was busted with his hand in the cookie jar.



Violette pleaded guilty to theft in February of this year. According to a legislative oversight committee, Violette used gift cards and other turnpike perks for personal gain. Violette began serving a sentence of three and-a-half years in April. The judge reduced the sentence from the maximum seven years, but added 1,500 hours of community service.