As the proposed 45 percent toll hike looms for trucks, Thruway Authority Executive Director Tom Madison says more time is needed for the board to consider the possible increase.

The statement released this afternoon from the Thruway Authority comes after it cancelled two meetings — one scheduled for last Friday, the other slated for 11:30 this morning — in which the proposed hike may have been discussed.

“The proposed toll increase for trucks is a complex issue that requires more evaluation before it is presented to the Board to consider,” Madison said in a statement. “The Thruway is looking at a number of options and doing extensive research and it will continue to do this due diligence work before another meeting is called and a recommendation is made.”

The toll hikes for commercial trucks were first proposed in May.

The statement, which comes after a board member complained about the process, does seem to raise more questions than answers.

What does this mean for the future of the hikes? Will they be smaller than originally proposed? what does this mean for the bond holders who have been carefully watching the situation? What impact could this have on the overall fiscal picture? And will business back a development like this that could be seen as either backing off the hikes entirely or add more uncertainty to their future costs?

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said the toll hikes are problematic, but could leave the authority vulnerable to a bond downgrade.

“No one wants a toll increase,” Cuomo said in September. “But nobody wants a downgrade to the Thruway bonds either.”

Update: And the Rochester-based Unshackle Upstate weighs in. This from Executive Director Brian Sampson.

“We appreciate that Executive Director Madison and the Board are doing their due diligence and looking at all of the options to address this irresponsible toll increase.  But if one of those options does not include the execution and follow through of a forensic audit, Unshackle Upstate and other organizations that are opposed to the toll hike will continue to oppose it.”

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