Turnpike Authority spent $160,000 on 13 managers' raises

The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority spent more than $160,000 to raise the wages of 13 managers over the past year, even as the cash-strapped agency was gearing up for a major toll increase.

Alan LeBovidge, the Turnpike Authority's executive director, said the raises were given to employees who were promoted to take on the responsibilities of positions that had been eliminated. The savings from eliminating such jobs far outweighed the cost of the promotions, he said.

"In my mind, there's really no salary increases," LeBovidge said. "The only people that have changes in salaries are promotions."

Eight of the Turnpike Authority's pay increases were awarded within the past three months, for a total of $89,000.

LeBovidge said that, in most cases, the increases went to employees who took on multiple jobs when they were promoted. He provided the Globe with a chart showing what he characterized as $1.8 million in overall budget savings, including elimination of 18 positions and the expectation that the agency would spend $419,635 less on outside labor lawyers this year by assigning more work to an in-house lawyer who got a raise.

As an example of the savings, LeBovidge cited the agency's chief financial officer, Joseph F. McCann, who was hired as comptroller and now serves as chief financial officer, comptroller, and director of financial management. He was given a $20,000 raise in March, for a new salary of $145,000. The move resulted in a net savings of $200,000 for the authority, LeBovidge said, because two jobs were eliminated from the budget.

LeBovidge has been under pressure to cut costs at the authority and said he has frozen other nonunion salaries. His board voted last week to raise tolls at the Allston-Brighton and Weston toll booths and to double them at the Sumner and Ted Williams tunnels. The increases would become final after public hearings and a second vote, possibly in early April.

Motorists and political leaders have been lining up in opposition to the toll increases, which are intended to raise $100 million a year. The timing of the increases, rather than their merit, drew a mild rebuke from some officials and observers.

"On the one hand, it sends an unfortunate signal to the public when these huge toll increases are proposed," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation and a close observer of the agency's finances. "But on the other, these individuals have assumed much broader responsibilities, and it's critical that the turnpike have strong management during these difficult times."

During last week's meeting, Turnpike Authority board member Mary Z. Connaughton suggested a salary freeze for Turnpike Authority managers as a condition of the toll hikes. Connaughton's suggestion was not taken up by other board members. She said that many people who work in the private sector are being asked to do more work for less money during the current economic downturn and that the authority should follow suit.

"While some of these raises may have merit, it certainly sends a conflicting message in light of the imminent toll hike," Connaughton said.

One longtime critic of the Turnpike was less conciliatory, raising questions about how one person could fill two or three jobs. "Unless they're working 10 days a week, I don't know how they could be doing that," said Senator Mark C. Montigny, a New Bedford Democrat. "In this climate, there should be an absolute freeze."

In August, the MBTA rescinded across-the-board cost of living raises for its managers after criticism from Bernard Cohen, the transportation secretary who chairs the MBTA's board and the Turnpike Authority's board. In his August letter asking the MBTA to rescind the raises, Cohen said it was important to "leave no stone unturned in restoring fiscal health to all transportation agencies."

Yesterday, a spokesman for Cohen said LeBovidge's job consolidations saved the agency money and praised him for saving $15 million since he took over management of the agency.

Noah Bierman can be reached at nbierman@globe.com.