Bridge commission gears down budget

NEW HOPE — The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, which operates the Milford interstate bridge, unanimously approved its 2009 operating budget Tuesday - a fiscal plan that is flat with the last year budget at $46,656,321. The budget was kept flat in response to the worldwide economic slowdown and the financial challenges confronting the Commission’s two jurisdictional states: Pennsylvania and New Jersey. As a result of the flat spending line, the Commission will not be able to provide cost-of-living pay increases to its employees this year. The Commission has slightly more than 340 employees. “The Governors of New Jersey and Pennsylvania requested that the Commissioners keep the budget flat and recommended that the Commission not grant cost of living raises to employees this year in light of the current economic crisis,” said Frank G. McCartney, the Commission’s executive director. The operating budget contains the necessary expenditures for the safe and efficient operation of the Commission’s bridges, approach roadways, and other facilities. Among the major cost drivers in the budget are: the first year of a new three-year contract with State Police to provide security at Commission facilities; a new, expanded E-ZPass customer service contract to take effect in June; and higher prices for road salt, which are up roughly 20 percent. Among major spending cuts reflected in the budget are: E-ZPass marketing, overtime costs and the use of outside consultants.