Open Letter To David Campbell About Tolls

This is an open letter to state rep David Campbell who has proposed moving the Bedford toll booth further south in an attempt to catch northbound motorists before they could exit to the new airport road.  You can read the full story about this HERE.

Representative David Campbell,

I am writing to express I strongly object to your plan to move the tolls in an effort to capture the airport traffic for a number of reasons.

One of the biggest reasons is efficiency.  If our government needs to collect money from us in the form of taxes and tolls it should look to do so in the most effective manor possible.  Tolls are not it.  Roughly a third to a half of the money collected goes into running the toll booth itself.  That seems to me government for the sake of having government.  And in our current economy with so many people out of work or taking huge pay cuts and salary freezes I would hope we would want to find ways to collect in ways without as much overhead.

Our state already has a gas tax, increasing that by just a few cents would allow the state to collect as much as the tolls without the overhead.  This would also achieve the tax equality which we do not have now.  People living in certain parts of the state pay every time they get on the state highway system but people living in other communities pay nothing.  The justification I continue to hear is that we're capturing out of state money.  The Union Leader mentions that 22 percent of the airport traffic comes from Massachusetts.  If that is the case then why is there no proposal for tolls right at the boarder?  With all the traffic heading into southern Nashua, I would think we'd capture even a larger portion of out of state money.  But even that is something I would disagree with as we could do the same with a gas tax in a more efficient way.

The last yet one of the most compelling reasons to push to eliminate our toll system is because of the harm tolls cause to our environment.  By forcing cars to slow down and idle and then speed back up, they use more gas and create more pollution which I would hope we all want to find ways to eliminate as best we can.

I would hope that you and the rest of the House Public Works and Highway Committee would give serious consideration to finding ways to remove the tolls for the reasons I've spelled out here.

Thank you for your consideration,

Rick Barnes

I strongly suggest others who agree with me about the need to eliminate our antiquated and inefficent toll booth system to write rep David Campbell at campbelldavidb@comcast.net.

Or contact other members of the House Public Works and Highway Committee listed out HERE (http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H20).

Comments

[Rick Barnes]

It has been a full week now since my email and I have not received any response from the email letter above I sent.

[Harold Brown]

Richard:
Wow, did I read correctly, add a gas tax? Only 45% of gas taxes collected are spend for construction of roads and maintenance. The Governor and the Executive Council spend the other 55% for other purposes: This is a violation of our State Constitution. Need more money, take it from the 55% and turn the balance back through lower fuel taxes. NO more tax, the money they have now is illegally expended. If the toll roads are not bonded, remove the tolls. Why should we have to pay to travel on them, when we already own the road. No more taxes, particularly to support a dumping ground for political hacks. Assumptive. I thought 40% was the figure, but some folks say 45%, you can check the accuracy.

You mention 30 to 50 percent cost to collect tolls, that’s a lot of wiggle room. What is it? Years ago I was told a tax, that cost more than 5% to collect, is not an efficient tax. If your low is accurate, another reason to remove the tolls.

If government and others intentionally, and openly keep screwing outsiders that come here, to enjoy the state and spend money, the New Hampshire Advantage will soon evaporate.

While we are on the subject of the airport access road. I received an e-mail informing me of illegal searches on this road. Any comments. Not only does government wants to collect more money, people aren’t secure in their persons or possessions either. Maybe everyone should avoid RT3 and the airport at all cost.

[Rick Barnes]

Harold, you raise some good points. And I think your first paragraph hits it right on the nose. The state needs to cut spending. My suggestion of a gas tax was for status quo assuming the state continues spending at the same rate it is now, however only a fool would suggest that the level of spending right now is 100% necessary.

Regarding the 30 to 50 percent range, the reason I gave such a wide range is because depending on the toll booth, the amount of traffic etc the intake vs amount to run could be drastically different.

Before easy pass the ratio was even worse. Based on 2007 numbers the Merrimack tolls collected roughly $3 million annually. Of that $1.7 million went into running the toll booths themselves leaving the state with just $1.3 million per year.

A single cent tax on gas again based on 2007 gas consumption would bring in $7.15, well more then the Merrimack tolls even before the cost of operation is taken into account.

Here's the article where I pulled the data I'm quoting here:
http://www.nhinsider.com/richard-barnes/2007/8/7/merrimack-and-the-toll-revolt.html

[Harry Brown]

Richard I know you and I are on the same wavelength regarding taxes. In the Valley News a small headline ‘N.H. Transportation Chief Wants I-93 Toll‘. ‘He plans to apply with the Federal Highway Administration to locate a toll system on I-93 near the Mass. Border. Campbell said a toll is a fair and sustainable way to pay for widening a 20 mile stretch from Salem to Manchester. He hopes to find out by fall whether he gets conditional approval. Earliest the tolls get collected will be 2014’. ‘Officials in southern NH towns oppose the plan, saying the tolls will be an economic hardship’.

I went through the last five meetings of the Executive Council and couldn’t find any authorization for new tolls at I-93. Any tolls at the border is nothing more than harassment, unnecessary taxation and expansion of government Unless there is authorization somewhere, where in hell does an employee have the authority to set up tolls (petition) and interfere with interstate commerce. Authorization for tolls and taxes in my opinion should come from the legislature not an employee. Maybe the authority is already in place?

The toll dilemma rest solely with the Governor and Executive Council. Change we need.