>Here We Go Again : Turnpike budget blat; toll hike to fund road projects
Call the 2012 New Jersey Turnpike Authority operating budget a wash.
The bottom line of the 2012 operating budget is unchanged from this year’s at $475 million, but there are 141 fewer faces at the authority, which helped keep spending down to operate the Turnpike and Garden State Parkway, said Veronique Hakim, executive director. The total number of authority employees will be 2,011 full-timers in 2012, she said.
“The 141 are mostly retirees. We’re using more part-time toll collectors and there are changes in the flow and function,” she said. “If someone who was sitting next to you retired, it is likely you are doing your job and theirs.” (Higgs, Gannett)
