By Donald Wittkowski
Hoping to get other communities on board, Sea Isle City’s Council adopted a resolution Tuesday that denounces a proposed toll increase on the five Ocean Drive bridges as an “excessive financial burden” on motorists.
Mayor Leonard Desiderio and City Council President William Kehner plan to appear at the Cape May County Bridge Commission meeting Thursday to formally oppose the toll hike, which would range from 50 cents to $1.
“I think the toll increase is a little too drastic. I’m not just hearing that from Sea Isle residents. I’m hearing it across the county in my position as freeholder,” Desiderio said in an interview.
Desiderio, as Sea Isle’s mayor and a Cape May County freeholder, is one of the most powerful politicians at the Jersey Shore. He has been urging other towns along the Ocean Drive corridor to join Sea Isle in its opposition to the toll increase.
“It’s a huge increase,” he said.
Sea Isle’s resolution warns that the toll hike would have “negative impacts on the economic health” of the city. Among them, higher tolls would chase motorists off the Cape May County Bridge Commission spans and add to traffic congestion on local roads feeding the seashore communities, the resolution says.
Sea Isle’s motorists would be hit hard by the toll increase because the town is served by two Cape May County Bridge Commission spans – the Townsends Inlet Bridge to the south heading into Avalon and the Corsons Inlet Bridge to the north connecting Strathmere with Ocean City.
“Now more than ever, it is imperative that public officials focus on ways to reduce government spending and avoid measures that place an excessive financial burden on the citizens of New Jersey,” the resolution says.
There is currently a one-way toll of $1.50 on the spans operated by the Cape May County Bridge Commission. They include the Middle Thorofare Bridge, Grassy Sound Bridge, Townsends Inlet Bridge, Corsons Inlet Bridge and Ocean City-Longport Bridge.
Last month, the commission announced plans to raise tolls for the first time since 2009. The toll hike is part of plans to install the automated E-ZPass fare-collection system on all five of its spans by June 1.
To help pay for the conversion to E-ZPass, the bridge commission has proposed seasonal tolling fees to coincide with the county’s peak summer tourism season, so that year-round residents do not carry the burden of the increase.
Under the plan, tolls would be raised by $1 between Memorial Day and Columbus Day. A 50-cent toll increase would occur during the off-season.
“Once the E-ZPass system is installed, more vehicles will be able to pass over the bridges, faster and more efficiently when traveling from Ocean City to Cape May,” Patrick Rosenello, chairman of the Cape May County Bridge Commission, said in a statement.
In addition to funding the installation of E-ZPass, the toll increase would provide revenue to help balance the bridge commission’s budget, establish a bridge maintenance plan and build long-term capital improvements.
“Our bridges are getting this makeover because the current systems are 10 years old and in need of an upgrade,” said Karen Coughlin, the commission’s executive director. “We anticipate an increase in people using the bridges and paying tolls, adding to the revenue which will support our efforts to improve the overall condition of the bridges.”
But Desiderio said he sees no justification for the toll increase. He also questioned why the bridge commission wants to install E-ZPass. He noted that some motorists simply will not want to switch to the automated system, which collects tolls electronically by reading a transponder attached to a vehicle’s windshield.
The commission’s plan to install the E-ZPass network would make the bridges compatible with major highways serving the Jersey Shore. E-ZPass, which allows motorists to breeze through toll plazas, has been in use for years on the Garden State Parkway and the Atlantic City Expressway.
Motorists crossing over the spans operated by the Cape May County Bridge Commission currently must pay their fares the old-fashioned way – by coming to a complete stop and handing over the money to a toll collector.
Desiderio said toll collectors are important employees because they double as bridge operators on some of the spans. In some cases, the collectors must raise draw bridges to let boat traffic pass underneath.
The bridge commission said there will be no reductions in full-time staff related to the implementation of E-ZPass. However, the agency added there is the potential for nominal reductions in part-time, seasonal staff based on how well E-ZPass performs and its ability to improve traffic flow.
In other business Tuesday, City Council introduced two ordinances to create a professional emergency medical services unit that would take charge of Sea Isle’s ambulance and rescue operations.
Since 1956, Sea Isle has relied on the city’s volunteer ambulance corps for those services. However, the ambulance squad has struggled in recent years to attract enough volunteers to maintain round-the-clock EMS operations.
In his budget address in February, Desiderio cited the “diminishing ability” of the volunteer ambulance squad to provide rescue services as the reason he supports establishing a paid EMS staff under the city’s control.
City officials explained that the volunteers simply can’t devote enough time to the ambulance squad because of the demands of their full-time jobs.
“Some people are juggling two or three jobs just to make one full-time position,” said Kris Lynch, who serves as chief of the volunteer ambulance squad.
Lynch said there are currently about 40 volunteers overall, but fewer than 20 are available for the ambulance squad’s 12-hour shifts. She also noted that only three of the squad’s emergency medical technicians live in Sea Isle, with the rest residing in surrounding communities.
Despite the ambulance squad’s difficulties in recruiting members, Lynch stressed she has not yet decided whether to support the city’s switch to a professional EMS unit. She said she still needs more details about the plan.
“It’s not all hashed out yet. As far as I’m concerned, we’ll continue to do what we can and what we’ve been doing for 50-some years,” Lynch said of the volunteers.
City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing and take a final vote on the EMS ordinances on April 11.
Sea Isle officials have declined to characterize the plan as an outright takeover of the ambulance corps because volunteers will be used to supplement the full-time emergency workers as part of a “hybrid” force. Both squads will operate out of the existing ambulance building on John F. Kennedy Boulevard next to City Hall.
EMS Consulting Services, a consultant that is helping Sea Isle with the transition from a volunteer corps to a professional squad, estimates it will cost the city about $600,000 annually to run its own EMS unit.
The unit is expected to have eight to 10 full-time employees. The mayor has pledged the city will work with the state Civil Service department to try to hire volunteers from the ambulance squad for the paid EMS unit.
In addition to the full-timers in the new unit, there will also be eight to 10 part-time employees, according to City Business Administrator George Savastano.
