If you did not hear my Thursday morning interview with Scott Anez on Central Florida's Morning News, suffice to say I was a little fired up. Check here to see if it has been posted yet. I realize as a journalist, I am only supposed to give both sides of facts, but I am too fired up over the proposed toll hike by the Orlando Orange County Expressway Authority tp keep my mouth shut. Are they serious?

The plan is to raise tolls by 25 cents at all ramps and plazas beginning in April. After that, the tolls will be tied to the Consumer Price Index, and can be raised again and again without a public comment or a vote from the OOCEA Board! Mike Snyder, the board's chief, says this is a way to keep up with rising prices and changing times. I say it's a way to avoid scrutiny, politics, and the chance there isn't will in the community to swallow additional toll hikes. Why do you think they tolls had not been raised (expect for cash payers) in nearly 20 years? It's unpopular with the public, and you sure don't need public surveys to figure that out.

What will happen with the increased toll revenue? More borrowing by the OOCEA, including a further widening of the 408. They need it because of all the backups on that road, but isn't it strange how the road only backs up at the toll booths? They also want money to complete the John Land Parkway connecting the 429 and Maitland Boulevard. There's something deeper to the plan though. There are many people in this community that would like to see the tolls removed from all of our roads. How can this happen if the OOCEA owes millions or billions in bonds? It never will. The more the OOCEA borrows, the more they ensure their survival as an entity.

Who are these decision makers? Most are appointed by the Governor, and no toll hike has to go before an elected body like the Orange County Commission. Mayor Rich Crotty sits on this board, but the appointees from the Governor outnumber him. Harvey Massey was brought on board two years ago, and has already left, frustrated with his inability to make big changes coming off the audits showing lax controls over bidding for contracts. He complained to our own Zack Stein about the OOCEA not tightening their belt enough. He pointed to the new 25 to 30 million dollar headquarters for the agency, and the fact that they still haven't done anything with the old building downtown. Mr. Massey is a businessman, and he put it to me this way: "If sales are down, do you go and raise prices?" Didn't make a lot of sense to me either.

Finally, what type of poor government action can be done without some type of doom and gloom warning? Mike Snyder told County Commissioners last week that if the toll increase does not go through, the people that hold the bonds for Orange County's roads could come in and take over the agency, then raise the tolls anyway. Now THAT is some serious gall. Have you ever heard of this happening anywhere? Snyder couldn't give the Orlando Sentinel an example, and they certainly get enough in toll revenue to cover the debt service payments, and keep a good credit rating for the bond market. What he's talking about is if they continue to borrow the additional 650 million without this toll hike, then they could potentially be in danger. Here's a tip: Don't borrow the money! The OOCEA needs to take a step backwards and present this community with a sunset on themselves to go along with any rate increase.