Business groups from across the state are mobilizing to oppose a possible 45 percent toll hike by the state Thruway Authority for heavy commercial trucks.

In a news release this morning, the groups, which include Unshackle Upstate, the New York State Motor Truck Association and the Manufacturers Association of Central New York, call the move a troubling one.

“The toll hike proposal being advanced by the Thruway Authority isn’t ‘modest’, it’s irresponsible,” said Brian Sampson, executive director of Unshackle Upstate. “Rather than treating toll payers like a limitless ATM, we implore the Thruway Authority board to withdraw their proposal, submit to a full forensic audit and get their own spending under control.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, holding his first-ever Yogurt Summit which sought to highlight his administration’s friendly approach to businesses, didn’t necessarily rule out the toll hike going through but said he hoped the Thruway Authority could find efficiencies and cost-cutting measures before seeking more revenue.

“The first question for them is can they find more efficiencies and as you know, we spent 18 months here squeezing water out of a stone when it comes to efficiencies,” Cuomo told reporters in a gaggle.

Here’s video of Cuomo’s talk on the toll hikes:

The toll hike debate spilled over into the comptroller’s office after Tom DiNapoli released a report decrying both the mismanagement at the authority and the effort to increase fares for commercial trucks. That led to Thruway Authority Director Tom Madison to issue a rather snippy rebuke to DiNapoli, who is not exactly an ally of the Cuomo administration to begin with.

“The Comptroller, and his audits over the years, have actually contributed to past problems at the Thruway Authority by failing to report years of fiscal gimmicks and deferred expenses,” Madison said in a statement issued late Wednesday afternoon. “This spring we conducted an independent financial review by a highly credible firm which found $800 million in risky financial borrowing that needed to be repaid immediately. We will continue to do everything possible to control costs, and already anticipate cutting as much as $400 million in expenses.”

Toll hikes, even those that are done to pay for large infrastructure projects like the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement, are almost always unpopular. Cuomo earlier this month asked the Thruway Authority to seek a lower toll than the estimated $12 fare for the new bridge.

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