Bay Bridge – Cash Cow of MD

As they say in show business – “Tough crowd"; at least if you were in favor of raising the toll on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Pocomoke Mayor Bruce Morrison warmed up the vocal crowd by pointing out that Worcester County thrives on tourism. Down in Pocomoke, at the southern end of the county, Sysco is their biggest business. Neither would be positively impacted by the draconian toll hike proposed by the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA). Mayor Morrison then introduced his predecessor as mayor – Del. Mike McDermott (R-38B).

McDermott whipped the crowd into a near frenzy. He pointed out that the Bay Bridge was the “Cash Cow of Maryland”. Yet, the MDTA has refused, or been unable, to produce current financial data for the Bay Bridge. (Ironically, before moving forward with the toll hike proposal the MDTA merged all accounting for the state’s bridges, tunnels, and toll roads.) McDermott argued that it didn’t matter whether the MDTA wanted to raise tolls $50 or 50 cents, they needed to be able to justify it.

McDermott noted that the Bridge had been paid for multiple times. “We don’t want to pay more for something that already takes in more than it spends.”

The crowd had groaned when McDermott explained that their tolls would go up while the tolls for the ICC would not. They reacted similarly when told that their toll dollars would go to fund infrastructure improvement in the Baltimore – DC corridor.

House Appropriations Chairman, Del. Norm Conway (D-38B) received a cool reception that turned quite rude. Conway tried to thread the needle between being supportive of the O’Malley administration and standing up for his constituents’ opposition to a toll hike.

“I want the Bay Bridge to be as strong as it can be; but listen to what the people across the state are saying.” However, Conway then offered a compromise: “Maybe these people would be willing to pay $5.”

At that point the crowd, predominately from Worcester County, began to shout “NO!” and boo Conway.

Maryland Senator Jim Mathias (D-38) was unable to attend because of his wife’s illness. He sent a spokesman to read a prepared statement . While Mathias’s statement basically acknowledged the proposed increase to be a foregone conclusion (and calling for deeper EZ Pass and commuter discounts), the crowd kept stone silent out of respect for Mrs. Mathias.

Del. Jay Jacobs (R-36) emphasized the unintended impacts on Maryland’s economy that will emerge from a toll hike. “In my district, more and more people are going to Delaware to spend their money. They raised the sales tax. More people started shopping in Delaware. They’ve just raised the alcohol tax. More people are going to Delaware to spend their money. Now they want to raise the tolls. I can promise you that where I live people will think long and hard before crossing those bridges.”

Nick Loffer of the AFP was the first person to speak who was not an elected official. Loffer noted all of the elected officials who had signed the AFP petition against the toll hikes. Notably absent were Conway and Mathias. At that point Loffer asked Conway if he wanted to sign the petition. Conway said no and the booing commenced again.

The themes behind opposition to the toll hike have changed little since the first Eastern Shore hearing on Kent Island. A massive toll hike will negatively impact tourism. It will cause many Marylanders to shop in Delaware. It will cause many Eastern Shore residents to stop shopping in Annapolis and Baltimore. It will cause the cost of our food and other consumables to rise. None of these is positive.

However, maybe a toll hike could be justified. There’s just one problem – the state can’t provide the data to do so without cooking the books.