BRIDGE OPERATIONS PRIVATIZED
The control room of the Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge will be staffed by employees of a private firm beginning next year following action Thursday by the Monmouth County Freeholders. (Click to enlarge)
The Oceanic Bridge and the Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge are among the four movable Monmouth County bridges whose operations will be run by a private contractor starting next year, according to a report by the Asbury Park Press.
Reporter Joe Sapia writes that the Monmouth County Freeholders “voted 5 to 0 Wednesday to turn over the operation of the bridges to a Florida company, which a county analysis shows can do the job at an annual savings of $572,270.”
The other two bridges affected are the bridge over the Shark River Inlet between Avon and Belmar, and the Brielle Avenue bridge over Glimmer Glass in Manasquan.
From the Press:
The countys 21 bridge workers will be offered interviews with the company, Drawbridge Services Inc. of Pompano Beach, Fla., according to discussion at the freeholders meeting. The company does not work in New Jersey and so has no employees based in-state now.
Drawbridge Services would run the bridges, providing workers and doing some maintenance, throughout 2012 for $1,485,508. The county also would have the option to renew the contract at the same price for the two following years.
Costs to the county would have only gone up in future years, because of benefits and other factors, said John W. Tobia, director of the county Department of Public Works and Engineering.
In going with Drawbridge Services, the freeholders rejected a proposal by the affected bridge workers, whose plan showed $448,000 in savings.
While 21 bridge workers are now on the job, a full crew would be 30. One way the the bridge workers proposed saving money was by using a full crew of only 27, according to Mike DiGangi, a bridge operator and shop steward of Communications Workers of America Local 1032
Additional savings would come from more efficient scheduling, according to Local 1032.
The local said that under the plan approved by the freeholders, while the current workers are county employees already on the job, the new workers would be employees of a private company.
Youre going to get what you pay for, DiGangi said.
Nov 11, 2011 @ 10:50:11
They could save a lot more in the long run with a higher permanent bridge like the Highlands-Sea Bright Bridge which does not require bridge tenders and constant repairs like the draw bridges.
Nov 11, 2011 @ 17:19:45
Why not just leave the bridge down, it’s not like there is commerce passing under this bridge, just a bunch of rich people on leisure cruises for the most part. The only exception I have seen in my 7 years around the river is the pile driving company (again, enabling rich folk and their leisure cruises) that comes in and once I saw a fake steamboat come to the jazz festival from the highlands…. How much savings by leaving the bridge down?
I feel similar about the legislators, we have enough laws already, how much savings by getting rid of legislators?
Nov 11, 2011 @ 22:27:36
Privatization was not the right move here. The workers’ plan would have been more effective, but our conservative Board of Chosen Freeholders saw privatization and jumped all over it.
Nov 12, 2011 @ 19:49:19
Privatization was the right decision here. The workers’ plan would cost the taxpayers more. Thank goodness the Board of Chosen Freeholders are watching out for the taxpayers. And hopefully the replacement bridge will be a taller fixed bridge that will be attractive and eliminate the need altogether for bridge tenders.
Nov 12, 2011 @ 21:27:41
Nah… shutting down the bridge was the right decision here. The workers plan and the privatization plan both cost the taxpayers hundreds of thousands more than my plan. If they want the bridge open, let’s start talking user fees instead why should hundreds of thousands of tax dollars go to running these bridges so some guy in a 40 footer can cruise up the Navesink etc!?!?! No free rides under the bridge is what I say, time to pay your fair share rich folks.
#occupy
Nov 13, 2011 @ 12:31:15
Boat registration and marine fuel tax more than enough to support bridge tenders
Nov 13, 2011 @ 22:52:36
Perhaps, But that’s not where the money comes from.
Nov 13, 2011 @ 22:57:38
“However, 23 states still do not return gas taxes collected back into a boating fund, including some of the nation’s biggest boating states: New York, Louisiana, Maine, Georgia, New Jersey, Virginia and Kentucky, to name a few (see chart of all the states). On the plus side, among the top 10 boating states, which account for half of all the nearly 13 million registered boats in the U.S., all except New York earmark state gas taxes for boating.” https://www.boatus.com/news/gastax.htm
Just like they use the cigarette taxes to stop smokers right? I wish all people would quit smoking, the state would fail within what… days?
Nov 13, 2011 @ 23:02:33
More likely the boater registration fees go to paying for Mr. Christie’s Twitter guy…