More evidence of PTC deception on tolls in Brimmeier report to Pennsylvania legislature

Misrepresentation of Act 44 is contained in attachments to the First Quarterly Report of the Turnpike Commission sent to the state legislature Oct 30 2007 under the signature of Joseph Brimmeier, CEO. The vice chair of the Commission Timothy Carson claimed in a letter to TOLLROADSnews this week that neither he no anyone else at the Turnpike have claimed that the 25% toll increase in 2009 and 3% annually thereafter are the toll increases specified by law in Act 44.

Carson himself has been saying that in presentations as we showed with a slide from a powerpoint  where he referred to the 25% and 3 percenters as "Permitted" toll increases. This was under a heading Act 44.

We also produced a page from a press kit on the Turnpike website.

see http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/3369

3rd piece of evidence

A reader called TOLLROADSnews to point out further evidence of misrepresentation - in the attachment to CEO Brimmeier's quarterly report to the four leaders of the transportation committees of the state senate and state house of representatives.

Under a title page Act 44, the attachment is called "ACT 44 OF 2007 - KEY POINTS" and under the subhead "Revenue Sources" in a box the middle item is "Turnpike 'mainline' tolls to increase 25 percent in 2009 and 3 percent each successive year".

As everyone now agrees there is no mention of these toll increases in Act 44.

The Turnpike Commission has been systematically spreading the lie that Act 44 limits it to those toll increases, and then on getting caught, denies saying what we have evidence of them saying in black and white. Also in green, Turnpike green.

This misrepresentation has played into the policy debate with Joe Brimmeier speculating that a private concessionaire might double to triple tolls as compared to the Turnpike Commission being limited to the 25% and 3% annual increases.

It turns out the 25/3 percent numbers are purely hypothetical. They aren't in law. They haven't even been officially adopted by the board of the Turnpike Commission.

They are just possible toll rate increases used as the basis for the Citi Group financial projections. Those projections have other major flaws, but more of that in a future report.

TOLLROADSnews 2008-01-31