(The following story by Lindsay Peterson appeared on The Tampa Tribune website on April 25.)
TAMPA — Two state lawmakers are calling for inquiries into why the state pays CSX Transportation millions for railroad flagmen.
The lawmakers, Sen. Mike Fasano and Rep. Ed Homan, are responding to reports in The Tampa Tribune last month about CSX flagmen on state road projects near railroad tracks. The flagmen sit in their vehicles for hours, waiting for word of a train so they can warn road workers to stand clear.
The Tribune also reported that state Department of Transportation officials failed to keep records showing when the flagmen were on the job.
“As chair of an appropriations committee that oversees DOT, I have great concerns, especially when I see how much taxpayer money people are spending,” said Fasano, a Republican from New Port Richey.
His inquiries prompted one quick response from DOT. Last week, state DOT officials instructed district administrators to more closely monitor what they pay for railroad flagmen.
Beyond that, Fasano said he wants both DOT and CSX officials to come before his Committee on Transportation and Economic Development to explain the use of tax money to pay CSX flagmen.
Homan, a Republican from Temple Terrace, is chairman of the House Audit and Performance Committee. He said he asked his staff to research the railroad flagging issue as a project for his committee to investigate.
“We have to figure out a way to control spending of the taxpayers’ money to a ‘ransom’ situation,” Homan said.
Last month, the Tribune reported that local and state governments had paid CSX at least $3 million from 2003 to 2006 for flagging services on public road projects near the company’s rails.
The railroad company requires government agencies to pay for full-time flagmen, even when no trains are running and the road workers are hundreds of feet from the rails for weeks at a time.
Government officials say that if they don’t agree to CSX’s flagging requirements, the company threatens to bar road workers from crossing CSX tracks, which can halt a construction project.
The flagmen on projects the Tribune reviewed made about $25 per hour, including overtime pay. To that, CSX added a surcharge of about 75 percent for worker benefits and company expenses, boosting the hourly charges to more than $43.
CSX, based in Jacksonville, controls more than 1,700 miles of railroad tracks across Florida. It operates in 22 other states.
The company defends its flagging rules. They are necessary “for the safety of workers in close proximity to active railroad tracks and the safety of our train crews,” spokesman Gary Sease said.
Whether or not the state can get the railroad to modify its flagging requirements, officials can require proof of when CSX flagmen are on the job, said DOT spokesman Dick Kane.
“We realize we have a problem with that documentation,” he said.
On April 17, DOT’s construction office director, Brian Blanchard, wrote a memo to the rail administrators and others in the state’s seven district offices.
“Please have your folks document in the daily diaries the days a flagmen is present, for audit purposes,” he wrote. Daily diaries are the detailed reports of what every contractor does every day on a state road project.
He said the state would pay the smaller railroad companies in Florida only “when there is work on site.” But with CSX it was another matter.
The DOT would “try to convince CSX to take the same approach, although there may be union agreements that have to be considered. For CSX, we seem to have to play by their rules with no flexibility,” the memo states.
Blanchard also wrote that CSX would be asked to “be more accountable by submitting timesheets for their flagmen.”
In response, CSX’s Sease said, “CSX Transportation responds openly to inquiries from our customers – including local, state or federal governments – regarding the documentation and charges for our services, including flagging.”
Fasano said the issue caught his attention partly because the state is struggling to find money to keep up with the demand for roads.
“And when you read we’re almost being blackmailed to pay exorbitant amounts to CSX, it’s sad. It’s really disappointing.”
He said he wanted to find out “why are we putting out money to CSX or for that matter any company when there’s nobody there or they’re not working on the project. … I want DOT and CSX to come before us to explain the whole situation and why it’s happening.”
He said he doesn’t question whether DOT officials will show up, but he’s not sure about CSX. “They seem to participate when they want to get a contract. We hope they would come forward and explain their actions. I believe CSX has a responsibility to explain their actions and reasons behind what they’re doing.”
The hearings will have to wait until after the legislative session ends in May. But Fasano said lawmakers will return to Tallahassee in five months to plan for the 2008 session.
“We will take up this issue then, first thing,” he said.
The Tribune reported Sunday that state and local governments pay CSX for more than flagging services. Cities and counties in the Tampa area have paid the company at least $8 million since 2000 for construction, repair and maintenance of CSX crossings.
CSX doesn’t submit receipts from material suppliers. The company tells the government agencies what to pay, and if they don’t accept the price, they risk having to close a crossing or shut down a public road.