NEW JERSEY – Timing is everything. And today probably isn’t such a great time to be a board commissioner at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Just two days before said board is scheduled to vote on historic toll and PATH train fare increases came a report which concluded the agency paid $85.7 million in overtime to 5,360 of its employees last year. The Port Authority employs roughly 6,877 people, total.
The report, which was released Aug.1 7, was the result of a management audit conducted by the office of New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
In a summary of the report DiNapoli’s staff wrote, “We reviewed these costs and found that Port Authority officials have not effectively managed and controlled employee overtime costs. We found numerous examples of employees earning overtime that exceeded their base salaries. We also determined that Port Authority retirees accounted for 24 percent of the top 300 pensioners in the New York State Retirement System as of Dece. 31, 2009.”
The full 31-page report, titled “Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Management and Control of Employee Overtime Costs,” can be found on the comptroller’s web site (http://osc.state.ny.us/audits/allaudits/093011/09s87.pdf).
The timing of the release couldn’t be worse for the agency. Tomorrow the Port Authority’s 12-member Board of Commissioners is set to vote on a toll and fare proposal that could increase some fees by as much as 65 percent.
Under the proposed increases, a one-way PATH ride would jump from $1.75 to $2.75 next month. The 30-day unlimited fare card would be $89. Currently the 30-day unlimited fare is $54.
EZ Pass tolls paid by auto drivers who use the Holland and Lincoln tunnels would jump from the current $8 to $12, round-trip, during morning and evening rush hours. Off-peak toll prices would increase from $6 to $10, round-trip. Under the Port Authority proposal peak and off-peak tolls would in crease by an additional $2 in 2014. Auto drivers who pay their tolls in cash would see even steeper increases, as would truck drivers.
The additional revenue from the fare and toll increases would fund a 10-year capital plan.
U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) has called on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to conduct his own audit of the PA. – E. Assata Wright