'We're Screwed!'

...Starr Murphy, angry attendee

By Jeff Aydelette | Staff Writer

Click on image to enlarge A rowdy crowd packed the Delamar Center on the campus of Pamlico Community College.

PAMLICO COMMUNITY COLLEGE – Almost 600 hornet-angry residents turned out Wednesday night for a raucous hearing on the state Ferry System’s plans to impose – for the first time – tolls on crossings of the Neuse and Pamlico Rivers.

Ferry officials also intend to boost tolls on three other routes, while leaving two routes – the Ocracoke-Hatteras ferry run and the Knotts Island crossing free of fees.

The tolls, set to take effect April 1, have been mandated by the GOP-controlled General Assembly, which adopted a state budget that requires the ferry system to boost its annual revenues by $5 million.

“Start harassing your elected officials,” urged Starr Murphy, “because right now we’re screwed – we really are.”

Buoyed by a boisterous crowd, Murphy and 40 others took microphone in hand to pummel a panel of three men with questions, barbs, and criticisms. The session ran almost three hours, ending not a minute too soon for the two high-ranking state officials – Paul Morris and Harold Thomas – and private consultant Will Letchworth.

Click on image to enlarge The panel of three VIPs repeatedly stressed that a requirement to increase ferry toll revenues is now a state law. From left, Paul Morris, Deputy Secretary with the Department of Transportation; Harold Thomas, head of the Ferry Division; and Will Letchworth, an employee of the CDM Smith consulting firm.

Morris is a Deputy Secretary with the North Carolina Department of Transportation. Thomas heads the Ferry Division. And, Letchworth attended as a representative of the CDM Smith consulting firm – the company responsible for formulating four different tolling options – each designed to raise the $ 5 million, but varying dramatically.

In opening remarks that took approximately 30 minutes, Morris made it clear that his agency had little choice but to follow the legislature’s directives. That meant, Norman Sanderson, a Republican and the only state legislator who attended the hearing, caught much of the crowd’s invective.

In fact, Doug Sligh, who was among the last to speak, made it clear that, in his opinion, Republicans were entirely to blame.

“I donated $1,000 to Barack Obama in the last election,” said Sligh. “And, anybody who plans to run against Sanderson in this election, should definitely come see me.”

Sanderson, addressed by various speakers on numerous occasions, spoke just once and early on – bluntly defending his party for its lock-step approval of the budget, blemishes and all.

“I voted yes for House Bill 200,” said Sanderson, “because the effect of the overall bill was to cut the size of state government, which was about to drop off the precipice. It’s an up or down vote on that type of thing,” he added.

Sanderson hinted that he would seek to repeal that part of the budget mandating toll increases, but conceded that the General Assembly would not reconvene until weeks after April 1 – the deadline when tolls are set to take effect.

Morris, and his colleagues on the panel, went into great detail to explain an economic term known as the ‘elasticity of demand’ for ferry travel. He, Thomas, and Letchworth all agreed that the consultant’s pricing models had taken into account that any increase in tolls – no matter how small – would inevitably decrease ridership.

At one point, Robert Townes of Oriental seemed to speak for many in the audience, claiming “I think you’re going to lose a lot more traffic on that elasticity model than you all are counting on.”

A spokesman for Gov. Beverly Perdue offered highly partisan comments, saying proposed tolls “will hurt the very backbone of our coastal economy, and they are not only excessive but discriminatory.”

The spokesman reminded the hearing’s attendees that Perdue’s veto of the budget “was overturned by the General Assembly.”

Ann Holton, vice chairwoman of the Pamlico County Board of Commissioners, asked for permission to read a resolution, adopted by her colleagues. Amid a dozen or more phrases beginning with ‘whereas,’ Holton made it clear to all that ferry tolls for Pamlico County residents – set to take effect mere months after a devastating hurricane – were bad state policy.

The session, which packed the campus’ largest building, was the last – and by far the best attended – of five public hearings held in eastern North Carolina.

Minnesott Beach mayor Josh Potter offered his view that “the only relief we can possibly get has got to come from a committee that meets March 9 in Room 1223 of the Legislative Office Building. It is the Joint Legislative Oversight Transportation Committee, and we need to deluge those people with our e-mails.”

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By unanimous consent, crowd confirms ‘just say no’ to tolls

Mack Avery: “Will there by any concessions for outpatients of the hospital at Cherry Point?”  The response was no.

Greg Piner:  “Our issue is with the General Assembly. We need to be tolerant with the Department of Transportation, and strident with our state legislators.”

Ray Reilly: “We all need to remember that previous General Assemblies were the ones who raided the Department of Transportation Trust Fund of millions. I propose that we all pay our tolls with pennies. They’re legal tender, and I am calling this the Penny Protest.”  Note: During his remarks, Reilly tossed pennies onto the floor of the Delamar Center. The gesture was one of the evening’s best special effects – with the possible exception of errant microphones that occasionally emitted ear-splitting blasts.

Michael Speciale, an announced Republican candidate for the state House District 3 seat: “Has anything been done to reduce costs? Do you mean that if you were able to save $1 million by eliminating the jobs of some bureaucrats, that wouldn’t count (as increased revenues?”

Bruce Brown, who cited chapter and verse of a state statute: “In this state, you cannot convert a free road into a toll road. Because our ferry is a continuation of State Highway 306, this toll increase would not stand up in court.”

Robert Cayton, an announced Democrat candidate for the state House District 3 seat:
“You’re using our gasoline taxes to maintain the ferry system, and to impose a toll amounts to double taxation. You’re taking food out of our mouths. Ask  the General Assembly to repeal this law.”

At this point, hearing moderator Jamille Robbins offered his observation that employees with the Department of Transportation “as agents of the state, are not allowed to petition the General Assembly.”

Paul Morris, a high-ranking official with the Department agreed. “We’re essentially handcuffed,” he said. “We’re directed by the legislature on how to perform.”


Mac Rubel:  “People ride the ferry because, in fact, they have done the math. There is an elasticity curve. You are getting ready to change the math for a certain group of people.”
Rubel added that imposing tolls will force consumers to “consume more fuel” and the result might be “there will always be space on the ferries because no one will be riding them anymore.”

Judith Lynch offered a question, which resonated with many in the audience – and a query that was never adequately answered. “What sort of fancy footwork went on at the General Assembly in order to exclude those other two ferries?”

Darrell Wiard: Have you ever considered selling coffee and Krispy Kreme doughnuts? Heck, you could put vending machines on all the ferries and easily raise the $5 million!”

Fran Grubb: “Why were we (Pamlico County) not included in the original list of scheduled public hearings?” to which Robbins, the moderator, mumbled something to the effect that “we were unaware that there was anything big enough in this county sufficient to hold a hearing.”

Bob Miller cited numerous planned, and recently completed, major state highway projects totaling $685 million, and benefiting mostly inland areas. Miller called this misallocation of state resources “morally reprehensible.”

Frederick Cornue: “I urge the various media representatives here tonight to cooperate in publicizing the e-mail addresses of all those people on the legislative committee. It looks to me like a very large percentage of Pamlico County’s population is here tonight. You should realize that a ferry to us is like a bridge to others.”

Lee Duer: “I want to issue a challenge to our legislator, Norm Sanderson. When he returns to Raleigh, will he agree to work on an effort to rescind and revise House Bill 200?”

Pam Yurko: “We are the working poor in this part of the state. We’re already being strapped by increases in fuel costs that roll over to consumer prices. Will you continue to raise your tolls when you lost 20 percent of your riders? As a protest, we all should just stop taking the ferry.”

Alexis and Nicole Edwards; “At our schools, we often travel on activity buses to take part in sports. Sometimes we have as many as 42 students, coaches, and teachers. Are you saying that the passengers on a school activity bus would each be counted and that the bus would have to pay a toll for all of them?”  This question was answered by Paul Morris, the high-ranking official of the Department of Transportation: “At this time, we have no plans to exempt school buses.”

John Lachman: “Is the data and information used to calculate these revenue projections, publicly available information?”

Bill Sage, the mayor of Oriental, offered his opinion that “on the ferries where there will be no tolls, there is a mix of mostly tourists from out-of-state who are accustomed to paying tolls. The great burden we are relieving the tourists of, has the effect of tilting the rate structures against commuters who use the (local) ferries to get back and forth to work.”

John McCotter, an elected member of the Pamlico County Board of Elections, said the tolls would hit the school system particularly hard and “hopefully this will not be a factor we will have to consider. Our waterways have historically been our mode of transportation.”

Kenny Heath, a Pamlico County Commissioner, said “the old saying is don’t throw us under the bus, but in this case, I urge you not to throw us under the ferry. After Hurricane Irene, 10 percent of the homes in this county lost value. I came here tonight (mistakenly) thinking that a toll of $1 would be more than adequate.”

Ed Bryant asked the three-member panel a pointed question: “What are you going to net after the costs of collecting these tolls are subtracted?” In response, Harold Thomas, head of the Ferry Division, conceded that as much as 20 percent of all revenues – approximately $1 million per year – would be spent on wages, toll booths, and other expenses just to collect the tolls.

Bama Deal, who owns a food service business, decried the tolls as adding yet another cost. “We love living in the beautiful place, but there’s a tradeoff. It’s difficult to get around and paying tolls just adds to this difficulty.”

Candy Roberts won thunderous applause when she said:  “This is the most poorly conducted analysis I have ever seen. I propose you collect this ferry toll from the people who drive on I-95.”

Evie Chang Henderson criticized the Republican Party for recently decreasing the state’s sales tax. “Now we see that House Bill 200’s deficit is being put on poor counties like Pamlico County. Remember, poor people usually don’t vote.”

Dee Sage drew chuckles when she remarked that the public hearing for Morehead City was held at an off-the-beaten path location. “There are people who are probably still looking for that place,” she said.

Jude Dodds shared her calculations that a new toll road in the Raleigh area has a fee equivalent to just 15 cents per mile. “But on our 2.1 mile ferry crossing, we would be paying $2.40 per mile. Perhaps the people in the Triangle could pay that rate too!”

Richard Barmore seemed resigned to the inevitability of a toll. He asked about the details of an annual ‘pass’ and whether it might cover multiple vehicles, of different sizes. Some tolling options are likely to impose different tolls for vehicles less than 20 feet long, and greater than 20 feet. “Many of us have to choose the vehicle we may be using that day,” he said.

Robert Miller: “To impose this scheme on us is immoral and unjust. Don’t the legislators in Raleigh understand that we’ve just been hit by Hurricane Irene?”

Morgan Smith came with prepared remarks, but time ran before he and others could offer their comments. As the crowd filed out, Smith said: “We were just coming back from Hurricane Irene, but this thing (proposed tolls) has knocked us back down again.”

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