# Gov. seeks to cut jobs at turnpike



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

The Patrick administration wants to slash the bloated payroll at the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, a move aimed at convincing a skeptical public that the governor will cut costs before pushing for an unpopular toll hike, the Herald has learned.
Patrick aides would not discuss how many jobs will be cut, but in public statements and in briefing documents, the administration has made clear that it is aggressively searching for waste in the Turnpike's $89 million annual payroll.
A financial presentation distributed Monday called for "potential reduction of current staff" as one way of cutting costs at the authority, which is battling to plug a $90 million financial hole due to increasing *Big Dig* costs and declining toll revenues.
Fat salaries at the Pike have long been a source of public outrage. The authority currently employs 60 "senior toll collectors" who are paid $59,000 a year, according to payroll records. That's nearly double the pay of starting teachers and many assistant district attorneys in Massachusetts.
The Pike payroll also includes 27 employees pulling in $100,000 or more, with 19 others taking home $90,000-plus, according to the Herald's online payroll report.
Other high-paid Pike employees include a manager of toll collection, who earns $82,000, and a landscape architect raking in $71,000, records show.
The Pike layoffs would be part of a broader effort by Patrick to reform transportation agencies facing a $19 billion funding shortfall over 20 years. The governor said this week that he is preparing to roll out transportation reforms focused on "efficiencies and the simplification of bureaucracy."
While aides would not discuss specifics, Patrick has been examining ways to merge operations between the Turnpike Authority and the Massachusetts Highway Department, two agencies with similar functions but completely separate staffs and payrolls.
"I don't see how we can convince the public that the current structure with the Pike is justifiable," said state Sen. Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford), who believes the agency should be dismantled. "We can't continue with business as usual."
The Turnpike board this week postponed a vote on toll hikes inside Route 128 to consider more ways of cutting costs. The maximum toll hike would be to $1.75 from $1 for non-Fast Lane transactions at Allston and Weston tolls; the maximum toll hike at the Sumner and *Ted Williams Tunnel*s would be to $6 from $3.
Turnpike board members say they want to keep the increase significantly lower, but must find other savings first. The board is also considering ending Fast Lane discounts and a parking voucher program at a North End parking garage.

http://bostonherald.com/news/regional/politics/view.bg?articleid=1032809


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