SMART advanced a $78.7 million budget on Wednesday that cuts some service and staffing but delays more drastic cuts until the pandemic’s impact is clearer.
A final board vote on the budget is set for June 17.
“We view this as a beginning point,” Farhad Mansourian, general manager of Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit, told the board of directors. “As we come out of COVID-19, we are going to have to watch and see what are the patterns and we have to adjust and adapt accordingly.”
The staff plans to bring back further budget changes in three months when there is more information on how the pandemic has effected sales tax revenues, fare revenues and stimulus funding.
SMART’s proposed 2020-21 budget would reduce daily weekday train trips from 38 to 26 but would retain all 10 weekend trips.
Weekday trips would include six morning trips, one midday trip and six afternoon trips for each direction. Under the coronavirus “shelter in place” orders, SMART is operating on a reduced schedule of 16 weekday trips and no weekend trips. When the new schedule would begin depends on public health official guidance on safety standards for transit operations, according to Mansourian.
Weekend trips are set to remain after several SMART board members expressed concern last month that trip eliminations would lead to costly ridership losses. Cutting weekend service would save SMART about $1.6 million annually and cut 14 staff positions, according to staff.
About 13 vacant positions would be cut from the budget in the proposed budget, but no further staff reductions would be made. Mansourian said this allows SMART to have the flexibility to make changes later on, while not taking a “crash and burn” approach of laying off employees too early and having difficulty filling those positions later on.
SMART administrators are also seeking to negotiate a pause on wage increases set to take in place for its unionized employees in July, but staff said labor organizations have not responded to that request.
In addition to reducing trips, SMART also plans to eliminate onboard Wi-Fi service, end customer service and North County bus service contacts and delay equipment purchases and certain maintenance projects, among other changes.
All of these reductions are expected to save about $7.2 million annually.
Revenue from SMART’s quarter-cent sales tax for the current fiscal year is forecast to be 15% lower than the district budgeted last year, dropping from about $39.3 million to $33.6 million. In the upcoming 2020-21 fiscal year that begins on July 1, the staff is estimating sales tax revenues to drop to $33 million.
Fare revenues for 2019-20 are expected to be 25% lower than what was budgeted, dropping from about $4.1 million to about $3.1 million. Expected changes in commuter behavior — including increased telecommuting, continued concerns about transit safety and unemployment — are expected to continue in the 2020-2021 fiscal year. SMART forecasts a 15% drop in fare revenue, to $2.6 million.
SMART board member Joe Naujokas of Healdsburg suggested the district begin exploring new fare structures that will accommodate these larger societal changes and provide incentives for more people to begin riding again.
SMART was already facing a $9 million operational deficit in the coming fiscal years prior to the coronavirus impacts. The agency hoped to cover this and free up millions of more dollars by refinancing its construction bond debts, which it sought to do through an early extension of its sales tax. However, the 30-year extension under Measure I was defeated in March.
The staff said it is working to refinance the bond debt under the current terms to free up $1 million in annual payments as opposed to the $12 million in annual savings that could have been achieved had Measure I passed.
SMART plans to cover a large portion of its deficit for 2019-20 using $10.4 million in federal aid it received through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. In addition, SMART plans to use $7 million of its $17 million operational reserve funds.
Mike Arnold, a Novato economist who helped lead the Measure I opposition campaign, said the headline of the proposed budget is that staff propose to “continue to run the agency in the red, reducing its financial reserves in order to finance those deficits.”
The budget forecasts show SMART’s operational reserve fund will further shrink, to about $6.7 million, in 2021-22 and be depleted in 2022-23 unless more revenue is secured or cuts are made.
How soon and how significant the service and staffing cuts will be hinges on how the Metropolitan Transportation Commission will allocate the remaining federal stimulus money. SMART has already received $10.4 million in CARES Act funding under MTC’s earlier disbursement formula. If MTC uses the same formula for the second round of funding expected in July, SMART could receive another $6.5 million, according to staff.
Erin McGrath, SMART’s chief financial officer, said receiving this $6.5 million is “crucial to weathering the crisis that we’re in” and would avoid having to make “faster deeper cuts in service and staffing.”
SMART board member David Rabbitt of Sonoma County serves on the MTC blue ribbon task force that is determining what method it will use to disburse the funds. While no action has been taken yet, Rabbitt said he is hoping a similar formula will be used.
“We know time is of the essence,” he said.
However, other larger transit providers, such as San Francisco Muni, have called on MTC to provide a more “equitable” disbursement formula based on needs. Transit union representatives, transit workers and riders also called on MTC to set aside a portion of funds to purchase protective equipment for workers.
"smart" - Google News
June 04, 2020 at 08:18AM
https://ift.tt/3eFr42m
SMART limits staffing, train service cuts in 2020-21 budget - Marin Independent Journal
"smart" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2P2kUhG
https://ift.tt/3febf3M
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "SMART limits staffing, train service cuts in 2020-21 budget - Marin Independent Journal"
Post a Comment