With all-electronic tolling looming next year, the Golden Gate Bridge District is set to upgrade its existing equipment to handle the new traffic.

As a cost-saving move — the district is facing a five-year $89 million budget deficit — the Golden Gate Bridge District will lay off all its toll workers in favor of a strictly electronic setup, which will be unveiled as part of a “soft-launch” next spring.

Motorists will either pay via FasTrak or receive a bill in the mail through information captured by their license plate.

On Thursday, the district’s finance committee will vote on a $537,367 contract to improve the existing software capabilities of its current tolling system. The new software will replace equipment that is at the end of its useless life and difficult to fix, since replacement parts are rare, according to the district.

If approved on Thursday, the contract will go before final authorization at the district’s full board of directors on Friday.

wreisman@sfexaminer.com