MERRIMACK, New Hampshire (STPNS) -- In August, town councilors said they wanted to ?get their ducks in a row? by meeting with Gov. John Lynch and the executive council before pursuing the idea of a class-action lawsuit over highway tolls.

The plan for Merrimack to sue the state over so-called toll inequity gained some impetus on Wednesday, however, after the executive council voted 4-1 against Executive Councilor Debora Pignatelli?s proposal to reduce the southbound toll fees at Exits 10 and 11 on the F. E. Everett Turnpike from 50 cents to zero. Executive Councilors Raymond Burton, John Shea, Beverly Hollingworth and Ray Wieczorek opposed the plan.



Despite hearing several presentations calling for toll relief from residents and state and town officials during the executive council and governor?s breakfast meeting at the John O?Leary Adult Community Center prior to the meeting, the executive council could not be swayed because, in Wieczorek?s words, ?A deal is a deal.?

Those were the words Wieczorek used to describe Merrimack?s agreement to have the tolls built when the town wanted extra exits. He said the $45 million bond used to build the ramps has yet to be paid off.

?If you have a 30-year mortgage, you don?t stop paying after 15 years because you think you?ve paid enough,? said Wieczorek.

Hollingworth backed Wieczorek?s sentiment on the bonds.

?The bonds are yet to be paid and it would cost about $3.5 million to remove the three tolls,? said Hollingworth. ?I believe it would be unfair to all users to eliminate those tolls with still an outstanding debt.?

Hollingworth and Shea agreed that when they traveled through town recently at different times of day, they traveled through easily.

But Pignatelli said the executive council should ?bring fairness and equity to the residents of this toll-locked town.?

Merrimack has six tollbooths, the most of any community in the country, and residents and local officials have made it clear that they believe the town is being taxed unfairly by the state. A state study conducted by an independent firm states that the town pays about 42 cents per mile to use the turnpike as compared to three cents for non-Merrimack commuters.

Representatives from Merrimack claim the tollbooth plazas have been paid off, but knowing where and how the money has been spent remains unclear. State Treasurer Catherine Provencher, of Merrimack, said she will look at the bond records to see where things stand as far as the tolls being paid for. The task, however, could prove to be a daunting one.

?We don?t account for when something is constructed and paid for,? said Provencher. ?We look at the fiscal health of a system.?

According to Provencher, the $607,000 net revenue loss proposed in Pignatelli?s plan would not negatively impact the bond. For the executive council, losing any revenue whatsoever is not an option when taking into consideration the floundering turnpike fund.

A recent toll hike proposal, which would boost toll rates in Bedford, Hookset and along the Seacoast, that was approved by the executive council, could generate $24 million in additional revenue for the state.

Pignatelli, who also pitched a plan to give the town?s emergency service vehicles free access to the turnpike while giving residents with E-ZPass transponders two free daily passes through the tolls, said she has run out of options at this point. The E-Zpass plan was killed.

Burton said the toll situation should be carried to the state?s house and senate.

Amherst state Rep. Steve Stepanek has filed a bill that says ?anyone who has a Merrimack zip code and an E-ZPass transponder will get a 100 percent discount at Exits 10, 11 and 12? on the F. E. Everett Turnpike.

To keep the plan revenue neutral, Stepanek said the statewide E-ZPass discount would go from being 30 percent to 28 percent. Stepanek said the numbers ?may need to be tweaked? if new information comes to light that he did not have during his calculations from legislative services and DOT data.

?The goal is to make it a revenue neutral bill so it will not cost the system any money, it will not require money to take out the tollbooths since they would still be used,? said Stepanek, ?but it is a way for Merrimack residents and businesses to get some relief.?

Town Council Chairwoman Betty Spence said ?any toll relief we can get for Merrimack residents at this point would be a step in the right direction.?

Spence said the council might discuss the toll situation and possibly putting the class-action lawsuit item up for a vote this month.

Councilor Tim Tenhave, who worked with fellow councilors Tom Mahon and Finlay Rothhaus to develop the town charter, said there are several options to consider concerning a lawsuit.

?I think the vote was disappointing, but the battle continues,? said Tenhave. ?Through the charter, a person could ask for that (a class-action lawsuit be put on the ballot) and the council could vote on that. Another option would be for 50 residents to get together and that would force a public hearing and a decision by the town council.

?If it was just one person the council could decide to take no action but with 50 people we?d have to arrive at a decision.?

Councilor Nancy Harrington said the town now will move forward after hearing the executive council?s opinion and decision on Merrimack?s toll plight.

?If residents don?t bring something forward, I think the council definitely should,? said Harrington. ?I think it has more power if it were a residents? initiative, but I would support a council initiated one as well.?

Part of the package, said Harrington, would be for the town to get estimates on just how much a class-action lawsuit would cost and weigh the potential risks associated with taking legal action.

But council Vice Chairman Mahon said the difficulty with filing a class-action lawsuit is the council would have to file it and not private citizens.

?We haven?t progressed,? said Mahon, referring to the toll situation. ?I?d like to see us take this issue up sooner rather than waiting until April, but I don?t know how my colleagues feel about that.?

Councilman Dave McCray said even before the vote he knew the Executive Council would vote against Merrimack.

?They have tried to be polite and everything, but this has been just a big waste of time,? said McCray. ?I think we need to bring this to the people and decide if they want to fund a lawsuit because it really is up to them.?

Despite his displeasure with the outcome, McCray said Pignatelli?s efforts on behalf of the town have been fantastic.

Rothhaus said a class-action lawsuit would be too costly to homeowners.

?A lawsuit isn?t a viable option on the surface, it?s expensive and it?s not something I probably would support,? said Rothhaus.

Councilor Mike Malzone called Wieczorek?s mortgage analogy ?ridiculous.?

?It?s a outrage,? said Malzone about the bonds not being paid off. ?There should be an internal investigation by the Internal Revenue Service or whoever to see what happened with that money.

?You?re telling me in almost 30 years we haven?t paid that off? It?s a farce.?

Malzone suggested taking ?drastic measures? by having residents collectively send a letter to Gov. John Lynch saying the town does not want to send its emergency vehicles on state highways and that the responsibility lies with them.

?We should have Nashua send its police and fire departments to cover one end of the turnpike, which they have been able to use for free, and have Manchester cover the other end when accidents happen,? said Malzone. ?We shouldn?t be held liable for something they should be taking care of anyways.?