Businesses: Tolls Would Hurt Us

All because of a sticker.

Proposed changes to the toll system on the Hatem Bridge would force residents of Harford and Cecil counties to reconsider trips to the neighboring county -- or somehow consolidate what would have been several trips to avoid paying multiple tolls.

That, in turn, raises the question of how businesses will be affected as their patrons adjusted to the toll changes on a bridge that's essential to local commerce?

Most are just holding out hope that nothing will change.

And that,  many business owners contend, is also what the State of Maryland is counting on—that Cecil and Harford counties will remain passive and allow tolls to increase on the Hatem Bridge. The Maryland Transportation Authority has proposed boosting the tolls on the bridge and elsewhere in the state.

“The State of Maryland is counting on our complacency,” local real estate agent Al Peteraf said at a rally last week held between the toll facility and Lindy’s Restaurant in Perryville. “I work with many people who come down from Fort Monmouth, [NJ], and I can tell you many of them are saying no to Cecil County because of this darn toll. How many tax dollars has the county lost? How many jobs are lost? All the trickle-down effects, do you think the Maryland Transportation Authority cares about that? Indeed not.”

Special public hearings will be held twice this month, giving residents and business owners on either side of the bridge a chance to air their concerns. The first is June 16 at Perryville High School, and the second is June 27 at the . Both meetings are scheduled for 6 p.m.

At City Hall in Havre de Grace on Monday, Havre de Grace City Council held a special session and passed a resolution to show municipal solidarity against the proposed changes.

“We wanted to go to that meeting June 16 with this in hand, that this is what the people of Havre de Grace feel about your proposal," Havre de Grace City Council President Bill Martin said. Martin has spoken out against the tolls on a personal level, as well, noting the adverse impact on  residences and investments his family has in Cecil County.

Main issues for locals are a change in the toll rate as well as discontinuing the AVI decal option, which has a $10 annual fee.  Instead of continuing with the bar-code decals, the state transportation authority board wants to use the E-ZPass system.

According to state Sen. Nancy Jacobs' new website, HatemTolls.com, the proposal would increase the current Hatem Bridge single-use toll from $5 to $6 in October, and to $8 in 2013. The cost to participate in the new annual E-ZPass program for the Hatem Bridge would be $36 (increasing to $72 in 2013). New E-ZPass users would incur additional costs: $21 for a transponder, a required $25 E-ZPass account deposit and $18 in annual maintenance fees (billed at $1.50 a month).

The Hatem Bridge is not the only toll facility impacted by the transportation authority board's proposal.

Tolls for passenger cars on the Bay Bridge would increase from $2.50 to $5 beginning Oct. 1 and increase to $8 on July 1, 2013.

In addition, the cost for a one-way toll on the Fort McHenry Tunnel, the Harbor Tunnel and the Key Bridge would jump from $2 to $3 on Oct. 1 and to $4 on July 1, 2013.

Other toll increases set for Oct. 1 include the John F. Kennedy Highway, from $5 to $6, and the Harry W. Nice Bridge in Southern Maryland, from $3 to $5.  Those tolls would increase to $8 on July 1, 2013.

Finally, there will also be increases for E-ZPass users and commuters along with a video toll rate for vehicles traveling through a toll plaza without a valid E-ZPass or making cash payment. The video rate would replace the existing $3 notice-of-toll-due fee and would be 25 percent higher than the proposed cash rates.

The biggest issue for Cecil County residents is the feeling of further alienation from the rest of the state.

Andrew Jodlbauer, of Jodlbauer’s Furniture in Elkton, gave an energetic address to the crowd at the toll facility last week, and offered some unique suggestions.

“Who is going to come to Cecil County? Nobody,” Jodlbauer said. “Years ago, when I was a young, young man, Walter Baker wanted the Eastern Shore to secede from the State of Maryland. We should secede from the State of Maryland because if you want to pay for your interconnection thing [the Intercounty Connector] in Montgomery County, pick this damn thing up and move it to Montgomery County. Collect your toll in Montgomery County and send us our share. We’ve been paying for this bridge for 60 years. ... You guys have got to stand up here in Cecil County and say enough is enough."

Jodlbauer said some positive things are starting to happen in Cecil County, such as a development from Clark Turner Homes on Route 40. The tolls will affect the new residents of that neighborhood, he said.

“Where do you think most of them work? They work in Aberdeen,” Jodlbauer said.

Larry Metz, owner of The Wellwood Club in Charlestown, said the message has to be given by the residents and business owners of Cecil County. He pleaded with people to attend the June 16 hearing in Perryville.

“This is a people thing. At the next rally, bring one or two more people,” Metz said. “You’ve got everybody fighting. Power of the people, let’s show Annapolis how powerful we are: show up and pack that place.”