Concord
Councilor Russell Prescott, R-Kingston, is asking the state Department of Transportation to withdraw its toll-hike proposal from the Executive Council agenda, he said on Monday. If the department doesn’t remove the item itself, Prescott, a swing vote, said he will vote down the measure himself.
Prescott, who requested the department draft the proposal, said he’s still in favor of raising toll fees but was unaware that the measure would be put to a vote so quickly.
“To me, that’s putting the cart before the horse,” he said on Monday. “Public input is very important.”
Unveiled at a Nov. 22 meeting of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Intermodal Transportation, the proposal would increase toll booth rates across New Hampshire with the intention of accelerating construction on road projects. Under the plan, cash rates at the toll booth in Hooksett would increase from $1 to $1.50, and EZ-Pass charges from 70 cents to $1.05. The Hooksett Interstate 93 ramp, which currently charges 50 cents cash, would increase to 75 cents.
Under New Hampshire law, the Executive Council and governor have the sole authority to raise rates across the state’s toll system, a move that has not been made since 2007.
But the plan, which the department estimated would bring in an additional $36 million a year, has come under heavy criticism by conservative groups, who have labeled it a last-minute tax. In recent days, advocacy groups such as Americans for Property have organized a phone campaign intended to turn Prescott around.
Prescott’s two Republican colleagues, David Wheeler, of Milford, N.H., and Joe Kenney, of Union, N.H., said they oppose a toll increase. Both Democratic members of the five-member council support the move. Speaking Monday, Executive Councilor Andru Volinsky said while he believes in the increase, he is open to putting off this week’s planned vote to hear more from residents.
The effort to table the vote comes ahead of a planned 6 p.m. hearing on Monday at the Portsmouth Public Library, which Prescott said he would not be able to attend due to a health emergency.
As Prescott explained it, removing the toll hike proposal from the regular council agenda on Wednesday would still allow the council to include the toll hike in its draft 10-Year Transportation Plan. But that draft plan isn’t expected to be approved and recommended to the governor until Dec. 20, after which community planning councils traditionally host hearings across the state. Prescott said he would push for the toll hike to be reintroduced before the council’s Jan. 3 meeting, two weeks ahead of the Jan. 15 deadline for Gov. Chris Sununu to submit a proposal to the Legislature.
Prescott said the Department of Transportation would likely move to withdraw Wednesday’s motion itself; a spokesman for the department could not be immediately reached.
Meanwhile, whether the plan is reintroduced to the Executive Council in January is up to the governor, who has final say over which items are put to before the council. Sununu allowed the proposal to move forward last week despite personal opposition, saying he respects the council’s prerogative to control rates. A spokesman for the governor did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Both Volinsky and Prescott said they’re open to hearing more public opinion on toll increases. But Prescott, a crucial vote, said that barring “huge and obvious” public opposition, he will likely continue to support the plan. Part of the money would go toward erecting long-awaited sound barriers along I-95 in Portsmouth, a city Prescott represents; other projects to be accelerated include two accident-prone exits in Manchester.