State ferry board approves rate hike proposal, hearings set for June

The Vinalhaven ferry docking at the island terminal. Peter Ralston

After discussing seven different proposals, the Maine State Ferry Advisory Board unanimously approved an increase in fares that would start July 1.

This is the second fare hike in two years. Last summer, a 12.5 percent hike was adopted, to pay for skyrocketing fuel costs.

Public hearings on the proposed hike will be held on Swan's Island on June 16 at 7 p.m. at the Swan's Island School and on June 18 at 6 p.m. at the Rockland Ferry Terminal.

The proposed hike is based on a surcharge added on to all tickets except truck fares and reservations. The board also voted to eliminate one-way tickets purchased on the mainland. And a commuter ticket program being tried out on Swan's Island was expanded to North Haven and Vinalhaven.

The Maine State Ferry Service, part of the Maine Department of Transportation (DOT), provides service to Vinalhaven, North Haven, Matinicus, Islesboro, Swan's Island and Frenchboro. State law mandates that no more than 50 percent of the ferry service's operating budget can come from the Maine Highway Account, with the other 50 percent coming from fares.

The rate hike was needed to generate a total of $4.5 million from fares, which is the amount required for the ferry service to meet the 50 percent match mandated by the state.

"I am glad the board acted-I think it was important that they did," said Capt. Jim MacLeod, manager of the Maine State Ferry Service, after the meeting. "I do appreciate that islanders are struggling."

The proposal means that an adult, round-trip ticket to Vinalhaven, North Haven and Swan's Island would go from $8.50 to $9.75; an adult ticket to Frenchboro would go from $10 to $11.25; and an adult ticket to Islesboro would go from $4.25 to $5.50. The board decided not to raise rates for Matinicus Island, which gets limited service from the Maine State Ferry. Truck fares were not increased. The original proposal called for a surcharge of $2.35 for all vehicle tickets and a surcharge of $1.35 for all other tickets. But the surcharge figures were rounded up or down to make exact change and help the ferry workers collect fares.

The board had talked about six different rate plans at meeting in May. Two of the proposals would have set summer rates much higher than winter rates. The goal was to capture money from summer residents and tourists, a strategy currently employed by the quasi-public Casco Bay Lines ferry service.

The proposed summer fares would have been more than double winter fares. These two-season proposals were quite controversial. In fact, 350 Islesboro residents signed a petition against one of the two-season rate proposals, according to Nakomis Nelson, representing Islesboro.

The rate plan approved May 22 was based on a response and proposal from the North Haven Board of Selectmen. In an open letter to the ferry board, North Haven Selectmen said the six rate proposals were put forward hastily and that financial information about the reasons for the hike were not provided in time for meaningful debate. Annie Brown, a North Haven resident who works for the Island Institute (that publishes Working Waterfront) said islanders should have been included at the start. "In this process, I feel like there was no island input until you decided what you want," she said.

Sonny Sprague, Swan's Island board member, said islanders cannot afford any more hikes (see "Swan's Islanders angry about ferry rates" ). "They just said they can't take any more increases-something has to be done about this picture. Swan's Island is hurting, no doubt about it."

As the different plans were debated, John Stork expressed frustration. "We are not thinking outside the box," Stork said. "It is the same sort of thinking that has been done year after year." Stork is a member of the North Haven Board of Selectmen, who said his views do not represent the board or the town. "Where has privatization of the whole ferry service come into play? Has that come into our thinking yet? At least maybe it should be investigated," Stork said.

State Rep. Hannah Pingree (D-North Haven) said, "You don't want to get into that-we need to find a way to mediate this. This is still a fair deal for islanders. Casco Bay and Isle au Haut are dying for what we've got."

The Casco Bay Island Transit District, which serves five year-round unbridged islands received only $44,400 in operating assistance from the state in fiscal 2009, and $310,509 for capital projects and maintenance, according to Catherine Debo, general manager of Casco Bay Lines.

Interviewed before the May 22 board meeting, Vinalhaven resident and mainland commuter Bob Deslandro said he vividly remembers the last round of price hikes. When the state presented rate hikes in May of 2008, Deslandro became so dissatisfied with the process that he circulated a petition asking for a special public hearing on Vinalhaven.

The worst part of last year's process, he said, was that the state gave little advanced warning of the rate hike and scheduled the public meeting on a weekday morning on the mainland. Only eight islanders showed up to the 2008 hearing, Working Waterfront reported.

Islanders absorbed a 12.5 percent increase in ticket fees and an increase or creation of mainland parking fees in 2008. Last year, state officials blamed higher fees on skyrocketing fuel prices. While fuel prices have since lowered, they aren't cheap, MacLeod said. The ferry service is laboring under a mandate from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to switch to low-sulfur diesel fuel, he said. Low-sulfur diesel significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions over previous diesel fuels, but also is more expensive.

The new cost structure also reflects the need for infrastructure improvement with the ferry service, said MacLeod. Some of the boats are several decades old and badly in need of maintenance.

The slowing economy also means that MacLeod and Maine DOT officials know it would be difficult to seek additional funds from the State Legislature if the ferry service exceeds its budget for the next fiscal year. State officials instead have sought to make sure they have enough money for the ferry service with ferry service rate hikes.

"We want to have a budget that's realistic to make," MacLeod said.

Deslandro understands the ferry service is in a difficult position, but he finds the need for additional funding for maintenance hard to swallow. Each year, it seems the state has a new excuse, he said. "When does this stop? You can [always] say, ‘We've got to paint the buildings."

Many islanders still feel they are being given too little notice or chance for input with the rate hike process. MacLeod said he understands people's vexation, but that the ferry service has a short window of time between the time when state legislators agree on the fiscal budget and the start of the fiscal year.

In the near future, MacLeod said the ferry service is preparing a five-year business plan to find structural changes and cost savings within the ferry service. The plan inevitably will suggest personnel cuts, he said, since personnel currently accounts for a large majority of ferry service costs.