State looks at leasing Turnpike
Cash to cut $4B budget gap
Sunday, January 23, 2005
BY JOSH MARGOLIN AND JEFF WHELAN
Star-Ledger Staff
Looking for solutions to the state's fiscal woes, acting Gov. Richard Codey is studying the
possibility of leasing one or more toll roads, including the New Jersey
Turnpike.
Intrigued by similar deals in other states, Codey has asked state
Treasurer John McCormac to determine whether such a transaction is
feasible as he seeks to close a $4 billion budget gap and fund
long-term transportation projects.
Under such deals elsewhere, private companies offer governments a one-time cash infusion and accept responsibility for maintenance and
operation of roads in exchange for keeping toll revenue.
Codey yesterday said the state's budget shortfall makes it prudent to
explore ways to generate revenue.
"It makes sense that when you take over a business that's struggling
you look at ways to leverage your assets. There's a lot of assets the
state has," Codey said.
And repeating what has become his mantra on the budget, Codey said:
"I'll look at anything."
Last year, Chicago reaped $1.8 billion for leasing the Chicago Skyway
to a Spanish-Australian Consortium. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels also may
privatize the 157-mile Indiana Toll Road to raise billions of dollars
for his state.
Transportation experts say the New Jersey Turnpike, one of the
best-known and heavily traveled roads in America, could fetch an even
greater sum. Drivers of 247 million vehicles pay $510 million each year
to travel the Turnpike's 148 miles, from the George Washington Bridge
to the Delaware Memorial Bridge.
"I'd be surprised if the New Jersey
Turnpike wouldn't bring $10 billion ... and it might bring $20 billion.
This is one big, solid business, a good place for investors to invest,"
said Peter Samuel, editor of TOLLROADSnews, an industry newsletter.
The state also controls the Atlantic City Expressway and the Garden
State Parkway.
That the acting governor would entertain even a study of the matter
shows the extraordinary steps government agencies across the country
must consider as they grapple with massive budget deficits. Nationally,
other government agencies have proposed fixes that range from
privatizing state pension systems to selling train stations and parking
lots.
"Just when you think there's no other way to address a $5 billion to
$10 billion gap -- boom, they come up with something else," said Arturo
Perez, a budget analyst with the National Conference of State
Legislatures.
Publicly, Codey has been guarded about his own budget plans, though he
has hinted he is researching some "radical" ideas. The acting governor has not ruled out tax
increases, layoffs, or reductions in rebate checks sent to
homeowners to offset property taxes, although he calls such options
last resorts. He also said he will
likely freeze state aid to municipalities and schools, a move
that could upset local officials and lead to higher property taxes.
In addition, state officials and legislative leaders have resumed talks
with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey about a controversial
plan that would allow the not-for-profit company to convert to a public
corporation owned by its stockholders. That move would result in a
massive one-shot payment to the state to help close the budget gap.
The acting governor also is considering a plan to install so-called
video lottery terminals, which are similar to slot machines, at the
Meadowlands Racetrack, a move he said could raise "hundreds of
millions" of dollars for the state.
But the lease of state toll roads is perhaps the most unorthodox fix to
capture Codey's imagination. Several administration officials, however,
said time is running short to put together such a complex deal,
considering that Codey will unveil his budget proposal in late February
or March.
Neil Gray, a government affairs official with the International Bridge,
Tunnel and Turnpike Association, said conversion of toll roads into
private operations is getting more popular as budget woes linger. The
practice is more common in Canada, where Ontario reaped $3.1 billion in
1999 by leasing a 68-mile toll road north of Toronto to a private
consortium.
"It's a way of garnering money in the here and now," he said.
Late last year, Chicago leased the 7.8-mile Chicago Skyway to
Cintra-Macquarie under a deal that would allow the consortium to double
tolls from $2 to $4 over the next decade.
But not all deals work out.
Houston considered a similar proposal a few years ago, but the idea
died amid lack of support.
Codey's advisers privately worry about a backlash if he embraces the
idea of leasing toll roads, especially one as iconic as the Turnpike.
Critics could label it a fiscal gimmick that unwisely turns a vital
public resource over to a private company. The Turnpike's 1,480
full-time and 788 part-time employees may also resist privatization.
Samuel, an industry expert, said patronage politics could pose another
obstacle. New Jersey elected
officials have long used authorities to dole out jobs and lucrative
construction and professional contracts.
"Politicians often see them as an advantageous
vehicle for exercising influence and dispensing favors," he
said. "It's more difficult to do this private stuff, to get investors
in, where there's a large, entrenched toll authority."
If the Codey administration does seek to privatize the Turnpike or any
toll road, however, it would not be the first time the state sold a
highway to help balance its budget.
Then-Gov. Jim Florio netted the state $400 million when it sold a
4.2-mile stretch of Route 95 in Bergen County to the New Jersey
Turnpike Authority for the 1992 budget. But that deal was different
because it was between two state agencies and did not involve turning
over a state resource to a private company.
In 1995, then-Gov. Christie Whitman's Advisory Commission on
Privatization suggested turning over toll road operations to private
firms to reduce state spending, but the idea never gained support.
Assembly Transportation Committee Chairman John Wisnewski said that as
the trust fund that finances new
transportation projects in New Jersey nears bankruptcy next year,
the privatization of toll roads may be worth study.
"It is something we should examine to understand whether it is
something that can work for New Jersey," he said. "If we're talking
about making transportation better and providing more resources for
transportation, and at the same time making government smaller, then
lets talk about it."
Staff writer Joe Donohue contributed to this report.