Tolls were last raised by $1 in 2008. Fastrak users now pay $5 to cross the span, while pay-by-plate drivers pay $6. Fastrak users pay less because it is cheaper to process those transactions, Mulligan said.
The district has a projected five-year, $142 million deficit, up from a $66 million deficit in 2012. It would take a toll increase to reduce the projected deficit to a manageable level, according to the district.
The toll plan would generate $123 million over the five years.
"We are starting the next round of strategic finance planning and there may be some new initiatives coming out of that," said Dietrich Stroeh, board member from Marin. "But we still need a toll increase of some sort."
Bridge officials find themselves grappling with a growing deficit and dwindling reserves and tolls appear to be the only option to get back into the financial black.
Personnel costs, the seismic retrofit of the span, a $75 million bill to help pay for the ongoing Doyle Drive upgrade, south tower painting and the partial loss of revenue from a downsized local bus contract with Marin County, have fueled the district's deficit, bridge officials said.
The district also maintains bus and ferry service. While transit eats up half of all toll dollars, officials say it takes 25 percent of traffic off of Highway 101 in Southern Marin during commute periods. The district also has cut its staff by about 25 percent in the last decade, officials said.
"We have cut costs significantly, but over the passage of time many of our costs have gone up," Mulligan said.
Contact Mark Prado via email at mprado@marinij.com
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: