Facing a group of business leaders in a part of the state nervous about the economic impact of highway tolls, Gov. Ned Lamont said Friday that alternatives such as bonding for transportation projects or raising the gas tax are nonstarters to modernize Connecticut’s “antique” transportation infrastructure.
The keynote speaker at a Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce breakfast attended by 425 people, Lamont was keenly aware of his audience, which included longtime Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, a Republican who earned his party’s endorsement for governor last year but lost a five-way primary.
The Democrat even quoted one of Boughton’s favorite talking points from the campaign.
“I remember he was going to tie himself to 84 before a [toll] gantry was built there,” Lamont said.
“It was a good line,” Boughton shrugged from the front row of the Ethan Allen Hotel ballroom.
“Well, I’m going to untie you,” Lamont retorted in a moment of levity.
Lamont spent 55 minutes briefing the group and then taking questions about his agenda and budget proposal, which includes two tolling options. The first is a trucks-only alternative that Lamont, a Greenwich telecommunication magnate, campaigned on last year. The second option is to toll all vehicles on I-84, I-91, I-95 and Route 15, which Lamont’s administration has said would raise $800 million a year for transportation and generate 40 percent of its revenue from out-of-state traffic. Lamont favors tolls on all vehicles saying the trucks-only option would not raise enough money.
“We’ve come out in opposition to tolls,” said P.J. Prunty, the chamber’s president and CEO. “We do feel like that’ll impact commerce.”
In the state’s seventh-largest city, which is on the border with New York State, there is significant angst over the impact of tolls on the Danbury Fair mall. City leaders estimate that 45 percent of those who commute to Danbury come from out of state.
“It’s a hot button issue down here,” Boughton said. “It really depends where the gantries are.”
Boughton said he appreciated the visit by Lamont and his openness to feedback on the budget, including tolls.
“The governor, to his credit, likes to get input from all sides,” Boughton said. “He’s a likable guy.”
Drivers with Connecticut-issued E-ZPass transponders would pay an average of 4.4 cents per mile during off-peak travel periods, which DOT officials have said is a 30 percent discount off the 6.3-cent-per-mile price for out-of-state vehicles. The rates would go up 25 percent during rush hour as part of a congestion mitigation plan proposed by the DOT. Drivers who make more than 20 round trips per month would get an additional 20 percent discount.
“I might as well take on the elephant in the room — transportation,” Lamont said.
The governor said Connecticut needs to address gridlock on I-84 and I-95, as well as reduce commute times on the Metro-North Railroad, which have gotten longer.
“This is an investment that helps move our state again,” Lamont said.
The total number of collection points would be 50, according to a DOT map, which the agency noted is for preliminary planning purposes and shows a gantry location between Exits 3 and 4 in Danbury — after the mall exit. They would be spaced out every six miles.
T.J. Hunt, owner of Danbury Plumbing Supply, urged Lamont to reconsider alternatives.
“The tolls are very much something we’re concerned about,” Hunt said. “We have freight coming in. All I can see is those freight bills going up. Why not go to every state-funded program and tell them their program is cut 10 percent?”
Robert Tripi of Rizzo Companies, a Danbury construction firm, voiced similar misgivings.
“How’s it going to affect our business?” Tripi said.
Lamont said coming from the business world, he knows there’s skepticism about toll fees being raided for other expenses. He mentioned a referendum that passed last year creating a transportation “lockbox” that would prevent that.
“I understand the bigger concern and that is you just don’t trust government,” he said.
The group’s members quizzed Lamont about myriad issues, from limited hours at highway welcome centers to charging sales tax on previously untaxed services such as architectural work.
Lamont advised business owners to direct their tax concerns to the legislature, saying he has a hunch it will make changes.
“On the sales tax, I’m getting a lot of push back,” he said.
The governor vowed to reopen welcome centers — like on on 84 in Danbury — and said it’s unacceptable for visitors to find portable toilets at some.
“It’s just an embarrassment,” he said. “What type of welcome is that to the state of Connecticut?”
Lamont, who stayed after the breakfast and mingled with business leaders, told the group that he’s got an open-door policy.
“Come up and see me sometime,” he said.
Calling the Governor’s Residence “pretty nice digs” Lamont even quipped about its nine bathrooms — a reference to his Democratic primary foe Joe Ganim’s swipe that Lamont was out of touch because his Greenwich mansion has eight bathrooms.
“I’ve got a lot of room up there,” Lamont told the group.
Neil Vigdor can be reached at nvigdor@courant.com
