When I heard about the recent move to automate all lanes
going out to Pensacola Beach, I was somewhat concerned. I believe this will drastically reduce
revenue. I know it will. A large portion of the revenue generated will
now be re-directed to Sun Pass, and these recurring fees and costs will result
in steep revenue declines going forward, as much as $500,000 yearly compared to
what we currently collect. How will we
replace that revenue? I’m not inclined
to support new taxes on citizens, or the imposition of new fees for consumers
who choose to go to the beach, simply to cover a self-inflicted revenue loss
created by a bad decision. I’m a
small-government, fiscal conservative and I want less government, less
regulation, less taxes, smarter decisions and more prudent governance.
Government is not like a business in the sense that
government’s job is not to maximize profit but rather to generate revenue
sufficient to provide needed services to citizens. Services cost money and
revenues must be raised --and government should strive to be efficient like
successful private sector, for-profit entities are.
Movie theaters offer discounts for matinees, restaurants
offer early-bird dinner specials, and bars have happy hours. All of these promotions attempt to increase
revenue in off-peak periods.
Why don’t we use some smart, market driven initiatives to
help ease beach traffic issues while simultaneously building off-season use of
the beach by citizens? I think there are
some things that can be done right away to create a win-win scenario—without going
to a fully automated, Sun Pass system.
The toll by plate collection process will be cumbersome and
I believe will result in further revenue declines (e.g. Where will the fee be sent for island
visitors driving rental cars?) What percentage of the toll by plate notices and
bills will we realistically collect?
50%, 40% or less?
How about we do something better:
I’d like to look at reducing the toll to $.50 cents, re-installing automated baskets, thereby substantially reducing employee costs
currently incurred by utilizing human toll collectors.
To make up for the reduced revenue, the delta between what
we lose by charging $.50 cents versus $1.00 plus the savings achieved by
automating the toll booths—I’d like to see some modest fees for parking established
at some of our parking lots on the beach.
If done properly, we could have some zones that are premium ($5.00 for
all day, front row at casino beach) some zones that are $2.00 for all day (back
rows at casino beach) while other areas (parking lots beyond Portofino,
boardwalk parking lot, sound-side lots just south of the toll booths) could
remain free. Consumer discretion and
choice would dictate where folks park based upon what they want to spend. Consumer choice works.
We could have a company that specializes in the management
of parking bid for the concession and manage the beach parking program. During the winter off-season
(December-February) we could make all parking free and open up the toll-lanes
to allow free access to the beach during the off season—which could help beach
businesses increase revenues during their slow months.
Doing this intelligently will preserve our revenue while
also helping traffic flow while increasing beach visitor numbers during the
off-season. Importantly, we could adjust
the various facets of the plan to match existing revenue --while also making
the beach access free for winter visitors and 50% less costly for summertime
visitors who don’t mind parking in areas further removed from the central hub
of Casino Beach. If this plan can be
adjusted such that the revenue will remain consistent with what it currently is
(Roughly $3.5 Million Gross, $1.2Million Net yearly) I believe this plan would
be appropriate and such a plan would find support among citizens---more so than
going to a fully-automated system.
No comments:
Post a Comment