Another impasse in funding negotiations between the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and the Cave In Rock Ferry may prompt a closure at the end of June.
Crittenden County Judge-Executive Perry Newcom told the fiscal court yesterday during its regular monthly meeting that funding had been cut by Kentucky, but Illinois is prepared to meet the owner’s contract proposal, which includes a three-percent increase over last year.
Kentucky Department of Transportation’s funding plan calls for the ferry operator to be paid $464,300 in Fiscal Year 2020. Illinois has customarily matched what Kentucky pays, which means the contract for the year would be $928,600. That’s significantly less than what has been paid to Cave In Rock Ferry Company over its current two-year contract, which ends June 30.
The county judge said the state’s offer for the FY 2020 contract originally reflected a pay cut of about $300,000. After some negotiations, the amount was raised, but it’s still significantly below what the ferry owner has received to operate the service over the past two years.
“It could shut down at the end of the month if they can’t get this done,” Newcom told magistrates Thursday. “I want to know why there has been such a massive cut.”
Two years ago, the ferry operator shortened service hours from 16 hours a day to 12 hours a day because of claimed funding shortfalls. After about three months of negotiations, the state and ferry reached a compromise and it resumed normal operations in the early fall of 2018.
The ferry normally runs from 6 a.m., until 10 p.m.
Ferry company owner Lonnie Lewis said this time there will be no shortening the operating hours, it will simply close.
“I went through this two years ago when I was trying to plant my crop – corn and beans,” said Lewis, who farms land in southern Illinois and Crittenden County. “I’m just not going to go through it again. If they’re not going to do it, just tell me.”
Labor laws require employees to notified if their jobs are in jeopardy. Lewis said he will make proper notification to pilots and deckhands next week unless something changes.
Lewis said he’s asking for an increase because of equipment costs and he wants to improve the spare ferry and tug.
“If something goes wrong I want to have reliable equipment as backup,” Lewis said.
Lewis says he’s willing to negotiate terms of the new contact. His company has operated the ferry across the Ohio River since 1994.
