Beaufort County and Pamlico County ferry riders have been given a reprieve.

Ferry tolls — $10 to $12 per ride — on the now-free Bayview-Aurora and Cherry Point-Minnesott Beach ferries will not take effect April 1 as expected as Gov. Beverly Perdue issued a moratorium Wednesday on implementing those tolls. But the battle to make the stay permanent is just beginning.

“I’m a proponent of (the moratorium) and deeply appreciate what the governor did,” said Joe McClees. “What she did was give us time to work out this terrible problem.”

McClees, a lobbyist with McClees Consulting Inc., was hired by the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners last month to represent the county’s interests in the state Legislature. While support for the plan to impose ferry tolls is dissipating in Raleigh, McClees will continue to reach out to members of the N.C. House of Representatives and Senate, to ensure legislators are aware of the effect the proposed tolls would have on the region.

McClees cited the one-two hit of a flailing economy compounded by natural disaster as reason enough for reconsideration of the toll hikes. Compared to the rest of the state, eastern North Carolina’s economic recovery has taken place at a decelerated pace, largely because of the impact of Hurricane Irene in August 2011, he said. New tolls would slow recovery even more.

“(These people) can least afford a special tax on anything, especially those crossing the river to work,” said McClees. “This is about human beings who are just trying to make a living.”

The Pamlico River and Neuse River ferries carried 534,841 passengers last year, and according to Beaufort County Manager Randell K. Woodruff, the N.C. Department of Transportation estimates more than 90 percent of those passengers are using the ferries to commute to jobs at PotashCorp Aurora and Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point.

“We’re very fortunate that due to some of our efforts, the governor signed the order,” said Woodruff. “We’re glad to see it. It’s temporary, but it gives us time to get mobilized and working on it.”

Rep. Frank Iler, R-Brunswick County, who helped shape the transportation budget last year, accuses Perdue of pandering to residents in eastern North Carolina, while Senate Republican leader, Sen. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham County, claims Perdue acted illegally by signing the order.

Regardless of the time bought by the moratorium, it will take an act of the Legislature to repeal the tolls permanently. Currently, a contingent of Beaufort County and Pamlico County residents is being organized to present the issue to lawmakers in Raleigh in a few weeks, according to McClees.