Florida Current: Task force grapples with expressway authority consolidation

A plan to consolidate all the toll collection functions of expressway authorities throughout the state was the idea with the most backing during a workshop meeting of the Government Efficiency Task Force this past week.

Merging the management and direction of the entities while maintaining local control, however, is a trickier prospect.

Task Force members are looking at merging some of the expressway authorities into the Florida Turnpike Enterprise to reduce administrative redundancies and lower the cost of bond financing by increasing their bond capacity.

Matthew Falconer, a member of the panel, estimated that merging the Mid Bay Bridge Authority into the FTE would save $400,000 to $700,000 by the second year, and as much as $8 million in bond refinancing. But he is also aware of the resistance of Central Florida legislators to such proposals for fear that the Tampa-Hillsborough County and Orlando-Orange County expressway authorities would be next. They worry that decisions on capital improvement projects would be made in Tallahassee, not to mention concerns that money from large metros would go to bail out struggling Panhandle authorities.

For the full article, visit the Florida Current.