The lone speaker at the hearing on a North Ferry rate change, Bridg Hunt, general manager of the North Ferry Company, explained that it wanted to reduce its rate for walk-on passengers who are Shelter Island residents from $2 to $1.50 He told the legislature Tuesday in Hauppauge that it would be able to provide the break largely because of “relief on the state sales tax”— a new state law exempting ferry companies operating entirely in New York State from sales tax when purchasing new boats, doing repairs and purchasing fuel and supplies.
He said “we promised to return” money being saved to riders.
The walk-on fare for non-residents will remain at $2 on North Ferry, which links Shelter Island and Greenport. Legislator Edward Romaine of Center Moriches, in whose district Shelter Island is situated, told his fellow legislators that this “preferred rate” for residents is based on the dependence of Shelter Islanders on ferry transportation to get on and off the island as part of their routine life.
Shelter Island residents protested heartily after North Ferry moved in 2006 to double the walk-on rate on the North Ferry to $2 and the Suffolk Legislature approved it as part of a new fare schedule. The company said at the time that fare increases were necessary to pay for the construction of a new boat, the Manhassett. The exemption on sales tax was able to be applied retroactively for the Manhassett.
After Mr. Hunt's remarks, the legislature voted to close the public hearing component of the legislative review of the proposed North Ferry rate adjustment. A vote on the rate change can then be taken at the next meeting of the legislature, December 16, also in Hauppauge.
Meanwhile, Cliff Clark, president of the South Ferry, Inc., which connects Shelter Island and North Haven, also addressed the legislature at Tuesday's session to request passage of what he described as a “routine renewal” of the company's license. The Suffolk Legislature governs ferries that travel within Suffolk County. “This is an every-five-year franchise license renewal,” explained Mr. Clark.
The legislature voted to approve the South Ferry license renewal.
Mr. Clark also took the opportunity to appeal to the legislature to support dredging of waters used by the South Ferry. With a “storm low tide,” Mr. Clark said, his ferries now sometimes hit bottom. And “under certain conditions, they're not able to enter the North Haven slip.”