#ncga: Ferry Transportation Authorities (Why?)
Ferries are important modes of transportation for many of our state’s coastal residents. The NCDOT ferry division has been overseeing these ferry operations for years. Now, here come the honorables on Jones Street — namely, Senator Bill Rabon of Southport — creating whole new state government agencies for the purpose of managing the state’s ferry system.
The legislation does a number of things:
- Allows for the creation of a local / regional ferry authority to be overseen by the governing body of each county or municipality that has a terminal for a ferry; every locale that has a ferry gets an authority;
- Each authority gets an eleven-member board consisting of: (1) the mayor and mayor pro tem of the municipality only accessible by water, (2) appointments from the General Assembly, (3) an appointee by the NCDOT secretary, and (4) the county commissioners of the counties served by each ferry
- Each authority is, of course, eligible for government funding and access to government property (AND they can hire staff!)
- Each authority can grant franchises for things like taxi service, concessions, etc.;
- Each authority gets their own personal certified police force
- Each authority can also exercise eminent domain for the purposes of acquiring property
This sounds a lot like what the DOT ferry division already does. What do you want to bet that the DOT ferry division keeps running even after these authorities get up and running? (Hey, Donald Trump just shut down a working group dealing with the Y2k threat.)
Nothing like a little government departmental redundancy to increase costs and really screw things up! What is this supposed to fix? I was unaware of any significant problems with the ferry system, but maybe THAT is the problem!
On the surface this looks like a contender for stupid idea of the year. Whatever happened to the ideas of a smaller, more efficient and publicly responsive government? Have I missed the hue and cry for change in an agency which, as a consumer, I think is working pretty well? Sounds like a lot of pork to me. Help me understand if I am off base, thanks.
What’s the problem?
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!
Looks to me like government fowling up something that is already working.
Beaufort County does not need to be involved in the running of our ferry. Creating this board and appointing another set of political ego maniacs simply add another level of bureaucrats. More expense, less decision making.
Let the Department of Transportation run it.
More big gov’t ideas from Southport’s King of Sleaze, Bill Rabon. We know how that’s worked out here in Wilmington with our Cape Fear Public Utility AUTHORITY, keeping our poisoned water a BIG secret, hiring more and more people, paying the CEO a huge salary and RAISING OUR RATES!!! Not to mention FORCING neighborhoods to hook up to their system that costs them thousands for the service. Like Nancy Reagan said, JUST SAY NO!!! Growing the largesse is the work of Dems!!
Well, this is just a way to dole out more political patronage so that donors have some kind of busy-body task to do in between giving politicians money.
More growing government in the name of “oversight.” These non-specific agency bills give frightening powers to the state governments. It’s bills like these which enable the growth of militarized police. Additionally, this seems like it could easily set-up a government monopoly of the state’s ferry systems. Interestingly enough, some coastal Republicans on the southern end of our crystal coast ignore the rampant commercialization of the coast, putting the blame of environmental hazards on the commercial fishermen. They ignore the over-building and corporate waste in exchange for protection of special interests — which then protect the public servant. It’s all about control, and the CCA/MFD is a strong indicator of the ill-fruits of abusive government control and “oversight” of our natural resources.
State gov’t heading in EXACTLY the wrong direction!!! We should be DISMANTLING unnecessary state gov’t bodies, not CREATING them!!!
Ferry System has been over run with politics forever. Primary job qualification is political connections and donation; absolutely no professionalism. Ferry, like the prisons, need a major purge not another layer of crap
Another Dumb Ass POS in Raleigh living in Southport…He needs to be voted out of office for being so damn stupid.
Sounds like a huge graft operation.